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THE BLACK FORGE MILLS; 


OR, 

i, 

UP THE KING’S HIGHWAY. 


BY ^ 

WILLIAM PENDLETON CHIPMAN, 

Author of '' The Mill Boy of the Genesee f etc. 


“ Fear not ; for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name ; thou 
art mine.” 


/ 



AxMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 
1420 Chestnut Street. 


Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1889, by the 
AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY, 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 


/I- 3/ 3 // 



DEmciiTinN. 


REMEMBERING THE EARNEST AND EFFICIENT HELP I HAVE 
EVER RECEIVED IN ALL MY STUDY AND TOIL FROM HER 
WHOM GOD HAS GRACIOUSLY PERMITTED FOR 
MORE THAN TEN YEARS TO WALK BY MY 
SIDE, I DEDICATE THIS TRUE STORY 
IN DEEPEST GRATITUDE TO 

MY BELOVED WIFE. 


N 



CONTENTS 


CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

The Black Forge Mills, 7 

CHAPTER 11. 

Miss Squire’s New Scholar, 22 

CHAPTER III. 

One Night’s Work, 41 

CHAPTER IV. 

Ray’s Confession of Christ, 63 

CHAPTER V. 

Old Ties Severed, 66 

CHAPTER VI. 

Long Point Farm, . . . • 78 

CHAPTER VII. 

The Burglary, 89 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Guilty or Not Guilty, 101 

CHAPTER IX. 

Ray’s Trial and Acquittal, 117 

CHAPTER X. 

Fruit at the Mills, 136 

CHAPTER XL 

Ray in his School Life, 152 

CHAPTER XII. 

Good for Evil, 165 


5 


6 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER XIII. 

PAG® 

The Strike, 185 

CHAPTER XIV. 

George Branford’s Home, 196 

CHAPTER XV. 

Eire at the Mills, 208 

CHAPTER XVI. 

What is Duty, 218 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Ray’s Decision and its Result, 281 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Clinton Academy, 246 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Showing their Colors, 259 

CHAPTER XX. 

The Shadow of Death, 270 

CHAPTER XXL 

The Wideness of God’s Mercy, 283 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The Last Year at Easton, 300 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

A Summer’s Vacation, 316 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Life’s Work Begun, 332 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Ray’s Full Surrender, 343 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

Hope’s full Fruition at Last, 355 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS; 

OR, 

UP THE KING’S HIGHWAY. 


CHAPTER 1. 

THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 

T he fragrant odor of sweet fern, and of pine and 
hemlock came to Ralph Carleton, the pastor of the 
First Baptist Church in Alton, as he leaned against the 
low window sill of his study. As he thus leaned he 
looked off toward the hills, which rose abruptly just 
back of the busy town. A heavy rain the night before 
had refreshed the thirsty earth, and clothed it anew in 
beauty. A perfect scene was spread before him, and, 
accustomed as he was to it, it still possessed for him new 
charms. 

Field and grove were green and leafy; the waters of 
the broad bay sparkled in the sunlight, and the pure 
balmy air gave an indescribable sense of exhilaration. 
Morning glories, honeysuckles, and grape vines struggled 

for supremacy on the high trellis at the side of the tiny 

7 


8 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


garden; roses clambered over the porch, and bud and 
blossom fairly rioted in profusion. The hum of bees, 
and the glad song of birds added to the perfection of that 
early June day, and to the young minister, who drank it 
all in with keenest enjoyment, there came an irresistible 
longing to throw aside his books and unfinished sermon 
for a ramble among the hills. 

“ I will do it,” said he, eagerly, changing his dressing 
gown for his coat, and his slippers for his shoes. “ In 
God’s great temple I will seek fresh inspiration for my 
unfinished task, and who knows but that I shall meet the 
Master there, and receive the power that will make my 
words a living message ; my tongue ‘ like as of fire.’ ” 

A moment later, equipped for a long tramp, he entered 
the street, and walked briskly ofi* toward the outskirts 
of the town. 

After a half hour of hard climbing he reached a 
small plateau near the summit of the hill, from which 
an extended view could be obtained of the surround- 
ing country. He had often heard his people speak 
of the beauty of this view since his coming to Afton ; but 
as he now paused and for the first time took in the scene, 
an exclamation of surprise and delight escaped him. 

Eight at his feet lay the large and rapidly growing 
town, with its well-kept streets, its tasteful residences, 
and its huge manufactories ; and yet, so far above it was 
he, that none of its din reached his ears, and only the 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


9 


tall chimneys, dark with smoke, told of the busy life 
going on there. In front of the town stretching away 
beyond the reach of human vision, and wonderfully sug- 
gestive of the unseen beyond, was the broad bay, its 
tossing waters dotted with sails of every size and many a 
hue. Well-cultivated farms extended to the bay on either 
side, and their growing crops waved gently to and fro in 
the balmy breeze. Back on the hillsides, and over the 
hilltops the dark forests lifted up their lofty heads, and 
perfumed the air with their piny fragrance. Altogether, 
it was a picture to delight an artist’s eye, and Mr. Carle- 
ton, throwing himself down upon the. greensward, eagerly 
took in the varied panorama, and felt his soul lifted by 
nature’s matchless scenery nearer to nature’s God. 

His text for the coming Sunday came to his mind : 
“ His glory covered the heavens, and the earth was full 
of his praise.” And under the inspiration of his sur- 
roundings, and his consciousness of the Spirit’s presence 
and help, his theme developed with marvelous rapidity. 
Taking a note book from his pocket, he jotted down 
thought after thought, utterly regardless of the lapse of 
time, until his sermon was finished. Then, looking at 
his watch, he found it was half-past eleven. 

“Well,” he remarked, “notwithstanding my long 
tramp, the morning has proved exceedingly profitable. 
Surely God has met and helped me here, and I will thank 
him for it.” 


10 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


Kneeling down by a boulder lying near, be poured 
forth his soul in thankfulness to God for his help, and 
asked for his blessing upon the message when it should 
be given to his people. When he arose a look of quiet 
peace rested upon his face, and new strength and courage 
for the Master’s work were in his heart. 

He now began his descent, taking a different route 
from that by which he had come, because it seemed to 
be shorter. He soon found, however, that the path led 
around the brow of the hill to the opposite side. As he 
was about to retrace his steps his eye rested upon a por- 
tion of the village which from the plateau he had not 
seen. 

Below him there was a small valley, separated from 
the main portion of the town by a sharp declivity. 
Through this a considerable stream went foaming and 
dashing to the bay no great distance off. Along the 
banks of the stream five large buildings with their 
massive chimneys were built ; and clustered about them 
were a half hundred or more tenement houses, exactly 
alike in size and hue. Mr. Carleton had no need to read 
the huge white letters on the roofs of the factories to 
know that they were the Black Forge Woolen Mills. 

There came directly to his mind a conversation he 
had held only the Sunday before with Mr. Bacon, the 
superintendent of the mills. He had preached that 
morning on Christ’s work in foreign lands. When he 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


11 


came down from the pulpit, Mr. Bacon had shaken hands 
with him, saying : 

“Well, pastor, I have no objection to Christian work 
among the heathen. In fact I believe in it ; but if there 
ever was a heathen field that needed immediate cultiva- 
tion, we have it down at Black Forge Mills.” 

“ Have you done your duty by it, then, my brother ? ” 
Mr. Carleton had asked. 

Mr. Bacon, shrugging his shoulders, had replied : 

“We are told not to cast our pearls before swine.” 

“ But are you sure they are all swine ? ” the pastor had 
quickly asked ; “ and are our skirts clear from their 
blood until as faithful watchmen we have warned those 
people of their danger ? ” 

Mr. Bacon at once had answered : 

“ You are right. Brother Carleton ; and for a long 
time I have felt that they should have some religious 
privileges. If they won’t come to us, we must take the 
gospel to them. Come down, and look over the ground 
at an early day, and we will see what can be done.” 

Mr. Carleton had given the desired promise, and now 
as he looked down upon the mills he was reminded of it. 

“ I can get there by the time the workmen come out 
for dinner, and it will give me an unusual opportunity to 
see them all together,” he murmured. “ I will go, 
though it will make me late at home.” And he hastened 
away in that direction. 


12 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


As lie reached the main street of the village, he saw a 
half dozen boys from four to ten years of age at play. 
Pausing a moment, he asked the oldest: 

“ Would you like to go to Sunday-school, my boy ? 

“ What’s that ? ” the lad inquired, curiously. 

“ It is a school where you learn God’s truth, and the 
story of his Son, Jesus Christ,” Mr. Carleton explained. 

“ Whose he ? ” the boy asked. “ I never heard of him 
before. I guess he don’t live in these parts, does he ? ” 

Laying his hand on the boy’s head, the minister 
earnestly said : 

“ It is God who made this world, and aU there is in it ; 
and he through his great love for us sent his only Son 
Jesus to die for our sins.” 

What are ye givin’ us ? ” the boy answered, with the 
air of one who was being imposed upon. “ If that was 
so, don’t ye ’spose I’d ’ave heard it before ? ” 

Mr. Carleton walked slowly on toward the mill office, 
convinced that the Black Forge Mill field did indeed 
stand in need of immediate Christian work. He found 
that Mr. Bacon was not in ; but a clerk told him th,at in 
five minutes more the noon whistle would blow, and from 
the office door he could see the mill hands file out 
through the gates. 

Scarcely had the first note of the whistle sounded on 
the air, when men, women, and half-grown children, as 
if glad for even a brief respite from their monotonous 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


13 


toil, hastened out from the different buildings, and, 
pressing in one vast throng through the ponderous gate- 
way scattered among the tenement houses for dinner. 
What a motley crowd it was ! The old and the young 
were there, the weak and the strong, the ragged and the 
neat, the coarse and the delicate, the grave and the gay. 
But upon every face there was written more or less of 
that stolid indifference which comes from pinching 
poverty, excessive toil, and reckless living. 

“ Five hundred and sixty-two of them,” remarked the 
clerk to Mr. Carleton ; “ and a harder set you never saw, 
men, women, or children. I won’t except a single one. 
By the way,” he added, as the minister started down the 
office steps, “ you had better keep the middle of the 
street as you go up town, or some of those youngsters will 
be throwing eggs or stones at you. I saw Ray Branford, 
the biggest scamp among them all, and the greatest dare- 
devil, too,, have his eyes on you as he passed ; you won’t 
be the first minister he has insulted.” 

With a laugh Mr. Carleton replied, “ Oh, I fear no 
trouble,” and hurried out of the gate. 

He had not gone a dozen rods when a stone thrown 
from some neighboring corner struck his hat, and sent it 
spinning to the ground, eight or ten feet away. 

“ Hoorah ! Hoorah ! Bully for you, Ray !” shouted 
a chorus of voices. 

Mr. Carleton picked up his hat, and turned around, 


14 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


hardly expecting to see any one. To his surprise, how- 
ever, a tall, well-developed lad of fifteen or sixteen years, 
stood on the nearest corner, with a stone in his right 
hand, while back of him was a squad of boys of all ages 
and sizes, from whom the shouts came. 

“ Well, parson,’^ the boy with the stone coolly asked, 
“ how was that for a shot ? ” 

Amused at the boy’s audacity, Mr. Carleton replied : 

“ It certainly was well done ; but what if the stone had 
struck my head ? ” 

“ No fear of that, parson,” the lad promptly answered. 
“ Put on your hat, and I’ll take it off again without hurt- 
ing a hair of your head.” 

Without the slightest hesitation, Mr. Carleton put on 
his hat, saying : 

“ All right ! I am ready.” 

With a quick, sharp jerk the stone left the boy’s hand, 
and again the hat went spinning several yards away. 

Mr. Carleton again picked it up, and walked slowly 
toward the boy. 

“ May I ask your name ? ” he inquired. 

“ Ray Branford.” 

“ Well, Ray, have you ever heard the story of William 
Tell, who shot his arrow through an apple on his own 
boy’s head.” 

« No, sir.” 

In as interesting manner as possible Mr. Carleton told 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 15 

the story to the boys, who without fear drew around 
him. 

“ That was good,” Ray commented, when he had fin- 
ished. “ I believe I could have done that.” 

“ I think you could have done it with practice ; for 
your present feat shows that you have a keen eye and a 
steady arm,” said Mr. Carleton ; “ but I know another 
story of a mere lad who, with a single stone in a sling, 
killed a great giant.” 

“Was it Jack the Giant Killer?” asked one of the 
boys. “ If ’twas, I’ve read him.” 

“ No,” replied the minister, suppressing a smile ; “ his 
name was David, and he lived in Bible times, and by 
slaying this giant he saved his country from the enemy.” 

“ I’d like to hear about it, sir,” said Ray, respectfully. 
“ I can kill a bird with a sling ; I have often done it.” 

“ I wouldn’t do it any more,” said Mr. Carleton ; “ for 
it is cruel to kill them just for the fun of the thing. But 
it happens that next Sunday our lesson in the Bible school 
is about this David and the giant he killed. The school 
meets at twelve o’clock. How many of you boys wiU 
come up there and hear about it ? ” 

“ I will,” said Ray, promptly. None of the other lads, 
however, would give the promise; so, telling Ray he 
would be on the lookout for him, Mr. Carleton walked 
rapidly ofi* toward home; 

Ray looked after him until he had disappeared ; then, 


16 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


turning to his companions, he said, with marked emphasis 
on his words : “ Fellows, that parson is a brick ; and I 
want you to understand he is to come and go around 
these mills as he pleases, without any interference from 
any of you. The first one of you I hear of abusing him. 
I’ll souse you in the ditch, no matter when it is, or who 
ye are.’^ And having delivered his message with the air 
of one who expected implicit obedience, he went up a 
side street, and entered a house standing near the 
stream. 

The door of the house opened directly into a room, 
which a single glance showed to be kitchen, dining, and 
sitting room, all in one. A long table was stretched 
nearly across the room, and at this four men and three 
women were sitting, eating with that haste and voracious- 
ness characteristic of those who feel that even their meal- 
time is limited. Another woman was moving rapidly 
about the table, waiting on those seated there; while 
three or four half-clad and dirty children crawled about 
the floor. 

Taking a vacant place at the table, Ray helped him- 
self from the huge dish of cabbage, pork, and potatoes, 
and began to eat with the same rapidity and greediness 
that characterized the others. 

“ What mischief has delayed ye this time ? ” asked the 
oldest of the men, and one whose bloated visage sug- 
gested reckless dissipation. 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 17 

“ I only stopped, pop, to stone the parson,” the boy 
coolly answered. 

“Ye might have been in better business,” growled his 
father. 

“Yes, such as gettin’ drunk and heatin’ the ole 
woman,” Ray, in perfect mimicry of his father’s tones, 
replied. 

A low oath was the only answer. 

“ What did the parson do ? ” one of the women at the 
table, a sister of the lad, asked curiously. 

“ Picked up his hat, put it on his head, and asked me 
to knock it off again,” replied the lad, while he still ate 
greedily. 

“ I don’t believe it,” said another sister. 

“ He certainly did, and I as certainly knocked it off 
again,” affirmed Ray. 

“ Then what did he do ? ” asked one of his brothers, 
moving back from the table. 

“ He told me about a man named Tell, who shot an 
arrow through an apple on the head of his boy, and 
about a fellow named David, who killed a giant with a 
stone. He said the last story was in the Bible, and 
asked me to come up to his Sunday-school and hear 
about it.” 

“Of course you’ll go,” said the brother, with a 
sneer. 

“ I promised to go, and Ray Branford keeps his word ; 

B 


18 


THE BT.ACK FORGE MILLS. 


which is more than either of his brothers can say,” re- 
sponded the lad, hotly. 

“Hoorah! our Ray will be a minister yet,” shouted 
his youngest sister, pulling his hair as she passed by him. 

A general laugh followed this sally. 

“ He is the only one out of the whole lot of which such 
a thing is possible,” sharply answered the woman waiting 
at the table, and who was the wife of Ray’s oldest brother. 
Then stopping beside the boy, she said, in a tone too low 
for the others to hear : 

“ Mother is suffering dreadfully, Ray. I wish you’d 
go in and see her before you go back to the mill.” 

He arose, and, crossing the room, entered a small bed- 
room. On the bed lay a woman ; and even to the most 
casual observer the hacking cough and hectic flush told 
that her days were numbered. 

In a rough sort of a way, that he intended should indi- 
cate kindness, Ray asked : 

“ How are ye to-day, mam ? ” 

“ Growing weaker every moment, my son,” the woman 
feebly answered. Then anxiously : “ Didn’t I hear you 
say that you had been stoning the minister ? ” 

“ Only to knock his hat off, mam,” he replied. Then, 
knowing it would please his mother, he added : “ But he 
got the best of me, as I have promised to go up to his 
church next Sunday.” 

“ The Lord be praised for that ! ” fervently ejaculated 


THE BLACK FOKGE MILLS. 


19 


his mother. “If you would only go every Sunday, 
Ray.’’ 

“ Perhaps I’ll like it so well I’ll keep on going.” And 
the boy laughed at the very thought. 

Then the whistle blew, and he hurried off to the 
mill. 

Two hours later his sister-in-law came hurriedly into 
the mill, and, with blanched cheeks, said : 

“ Ray, your mother is dying, and wants you at once.” 

“Have you told pop?” he inquired, adjusting his jack 
so that he could leave it. 

“Yes, and the others,” she hastily replied. “Your 
sisters are over at the house already ; but father and the 
boys won’t come.” 

With a word of explanation to the overseer of his 
room, Ray started on the run for the house. His mother 
was still conscious when he entered the room, and, recog- 
nizing him, gasped out : 

“ Ray, get a Bible, quick ! ” 

The boy knew there was none in the house, and has- 
tened out into the street. 

“ Grandfather Peck is the only one I know of that 
would be likely to have a Bible,” he said to himself, and 
hurried down a lane toward a little brown house at the 
extreme end. 

To his hasty knock a pleasant voice responded: 
“ Come in ! ” 


20 THE black: foege mills. 

“ Ho ! Ray, i9 it you ? ’* an old white-haired man, con- 
fined to the bed in one corner of the room, asked. 

“Yes, grandfather,’^ responded Ray. “But mother is 
very sick, and wants a Bible. Have you got one? ’’ 

“Yes; there it is at the foot of the bed,” the old 
man answered. “And, Ray, read her the first part 
of the forty-third chapter of Isaiah. That’ll comfort 
her.” 

“ Who’s he ? ” Ray asked, quickly. 

“ I forgot how little you and the others around here 
know of that blessed book,” the old man replied, with a 
heavy sigh. “Here, I have opened the book at the 
place. Hurry home with it now.” 

Ray, with the Bible open at the specified chapter, ran 
back to his home. His mother was bolstered up in bed, 
and, kneeling by her side, he read as best he could the 
holy words : “ But now thus saith the Lord that created 
thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear 
not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by 
thy name : thou art mine. When thou passest through 
the waters I will be with thee ; and through the rivers, 
they shall not overflow thee : when thou walkest through 
the fire, thou shalt not be burned ; neither shall the flame 
kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the 
Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour.” 

A sudden movement of his mother caused him to stop 
his reading and look up. She had raised herself up to a 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


21 


sitting position, her arms were extended, her eyes were 
turned heavenward, her lips moved : 

“ Fear not : for I have redeemed thee, I have called 
thee by thy name : thou art mine.” She repeated the 
words once, twice, thrice, in a clear, strong voice, and 
then fell back upon the pillow — dead ! 

Those divine words were the only legacy she had left 
her boy. 


CHAPTER II. 


MISS squire’s new scholar. 


BOUT ten o’clock the next evening the door bell of 



the First Church parsonage rang with a sharp and 
prolonged peal, as though pulled by a vigorous hand. 
The servant had gone to her room long before ; so Mr. 
Carleton, who sat in the cozy parlor, reading to his wife, 
arose and went to the door. Mrs. Carleton heard him, 
with surprise manifest in his tones, say “ Good-evening ! ” 
The caller, whoever he was, replied at some length, but 
in a voice too low for her to understand his words ; then 
he and Mr. Carleton went up to the study. 

It was nearly an hour later when they came down, the 
visitor going directly out, while Mr. Carleton, closing and 
locking the door, came to the parlor. He seemed sur- 
prised to find his wife still waiting for him, and said : 

“ Had I known you were sitting up for me, Mary, I 
would have dismissed my caller sooner.” 

“ Oh, it was my own choice,” she replied, as they en- 
tered their room together. “ But who was your visitor?” 

“Ray Branford, the boy who stoned me yesterday 
down at Black Forge Mills,” he answered, with a thought- 
ful expression still on his face. 


22 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


23 


“ Why, what did he want at this time of night ? ” 

‘‘ His mother is dead, and he came for me to attend 
the funeral service to-morrow morning.” 

To-morrow, Saturday morning ! How can you afford 
the time ? ” 

“ I must, even if other things are neglected. You 
could hardly expect that people to understand that a 
minister should always be consulted before the hour for 
a funeral service is decided ; and just at this time I am 
anxious to secure every hold upon them that is possible. 
It may be that this funeral will prove to be the entering 
wedgo for giving the gospel to them. They certainly 
stand in sad need of it.” 

“I knew this Mrs. Branford was dead,” he went on, 

Mr. Bacon having told me of it last evening ; but as 
they frequently bury their friends down there without 
any religious service, he did not know whether I would 
be called upon or not. Nor would I have been but for 
this boy. His father already lies in a state of beastly 
intoxication, though the dead body of the wife and 
mother still lies in the house ; his brothers are utterly in- 
different whether there is a funeral service or not, but 
the sisters, through Ray’s earnest solicitation, have finally 
consented that I should come, though they stipulate that 
there shall be no preaching.” 

“This boy, then, seems to be the most Christianized 
of the whole lot,” Mrs. Carleton remarked. 


24 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


“Possibly in some respects,” answered her husband. 
“Still, he unhesitatingly says that but for our meeting 
yesterday, neither would he have thought of having me. 
I seem to have quite won his heart by my method of 
dealing with him. I could hardly repress a smile to- 
night when, with the air of one who has absolute author- 
ity down there, he informed me I need not fear to come 
and go among that people, as he had already issued his 
orders that I was not to be molested under any circum- 
stances.” 

Mrs. Carleton laughed heartily. “An able protector 
you have in him, surely,” she said. 

“ I am not so sure,” Mr. Carleton continued, seriously, 
“but that he may prove a valuable helper, if not pro- 
tector. Mr. Bacon says he has almost unlimited power 
over his associates at the mills; is the ringleader in all 
their mischief; is wild, daring, and exceedingly profane. 
On the other hand, he is strenuously opposed to everything 
that will intoxicate, and prides himself on keeping his 
word. What little I have seen of him has convinced me 
that he has in him the material for a noble Christian 
manhood, only let the Spirit once begin the work. He 
will come to the Bible school next Sunday, and I am 
hoping it will be the beginning of better things for him, 
and for the Black Forge people.” 

“In whose class will you put him?” Mrs. Carleton 
asked, with interest. 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


25 


** Miss Squire’s. I have already spoken to her about 
it; she has rare tact for holding her boys, and I trust 
may secure Ray’s promise to attend regularly. Let his 
word once be given, we shall surely have him as a per- 
manent scholar with us.” 

Later in the night Mr. Carleton was aroused by his 
wife’s restlessness, and asked the cause. 

“I cannot get that poor woman at the Black Forge 
Mills out of my mind,” she replied. “To think that she 
should have died there without a single comfort, and 
with no Christian hope.” 

“ I meant to have told you,” her husband quickly said, 
“ that she was a Christian, and died happily. She be- 
longed to a Christian family in an adjoining town, and 
early in life made a profession of faith. She afterward 
married this Branford, much against the wishes of her 
friends, and a sad, distressing life has been hers, until her 
heart was completely broken by her husband’s dissipation 
and her children’s waywardness. But she never gave up 
her hope, and when this Ray came to her side yesterday 
she sent him for a Bible, and died repeating some of its 
blessed promises. The boy was really eloquent as he 
pictured to me that death-bed scene, and though he may 
not realize it, it has already made a marked impression 
upon him.” 

With a sigh of relief Mrs. Carleton settled back upon 
her pillow, and was soon asleep. 


26 


THE BLACK FOEGE MIIiLS. 


For the funeral service the following morning, Mr. 
Carleton, since he was not to preach, selected several 
passages of Scripture which, read in succession, told the old 
story of man’s sin and God’s redemption through Christ ; 
which portrayed the woe of the unbeliever in his death, 
and the blessed hope of all who fall asleep in Jesus. He 
was an impressive reader, and as God’s word, without 
comment, fell from his lips, it doubtless went home to the 
hearts of those who were listening, with greater power 
than any mere human words could have done. In his 
prayer, moreover, he thanked God for the faith of the 
departed — a faith which had survived the most trying 
experiences of life, and had enabled her, even when 
every human comfort was wanting, to find joy and con- 
solation in her Lord, He prayed also that the faith of 
the mother might now become the heritage of her erring 
children, and be the means which, by God’s blessing, 
should bring eternal life to their souls. Then all that 
remained of that patient, long-sufiering, Christian mother, 
was borne over to the village cemetery on the hillside, 
and laid to rest. Her life had been obscure to human 
eyes, her prayers had not been answered, and yet who 
would dare say of either, “He looked for fruit, and 
there was none.” “And I heard a voice from heaven say- 
ing unto me. Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the 
Lord from henceforth ; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may 
rest from their labors ; and their works do follow them.” 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


27 


Sunday morning dawned bright and beautiful. It was 
one of those lovely June mornings when the air is warm 
and balmy, when everything is green and flourishing, 
when the birds twitter from branch to branch or sweep 
down into the grass in search of food, and when all 
nature seems to praise God, and to invite his praise. 

Ray was awakened early by one of his brothers, who 
said : 

“HerCy wake up, old fellow; pop and Jake and I are 
going down" the bay a-fishmg, and we want you to go 
with us.” 

“Well, that’s jolly,” replied the boy, sitting up in bed. 
“How long before you’ll be ofi*?” 

“ As soon as we can get ready ; hurry up ! ” his brother 
answered. 

“But, you see,” said Ray, remembering his promise 
now, “ I can’t go.” 

“Why not, I’d like to know?” asked his brother. 

“ Because I have promised to be at Sunday-school,” 
answered he, ruefully. 

“That’s a good one.” And the brother sat down on 
the bed and laughed loud and long at the very idea of 
Ray’s giving up a fishing trip to go to a Sunday-school. 
Catching his breath finally,, he suggested: “Tell the 
parson you hadn’t been in so long, that you forgot what 
day they held it.” And again he laughed at his own 
attempt at wit. 


28 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


Provoked at his mirth, Ray sprang from the bed and 
began to dress himself, without saying a word. -The 
brother, taking it for granted that the boy would soon 
join them for the trip, left the room. When, however, 
he came down to breakfast, with a clean shirt and collar 
on, his hair nicely combed, his clothes brushed, and his 
boots freshly blacked, the brother, with an oath, asked : 

“Ain’t you going with us, Ray?” 

“ Not if I know myself,” he coolly replied ; “ I have a 
more pressing engagement.” And as neither scorn nor 
threats moved him in his decision, the others finally went 
oflf without him. 

As the hour approached for the morning service, Ray 
sought his sister-in-law, whom he in some way felt was 
most in sympathy with him, and said : 

“ Come, Betsy, go up to church and Sunday-school with 
me to-day. I shall feel like a fish on dry land up there 
alone.”* 

“ I wish I could,” she replied, a wistful look coming 
into her face. “ But George has gone ofi*, and the girls 
never will look out for the children, so I can’t go.” 

He then went to each of his sisters in turn with a simi- 
lar request, but in each case met with a scornful refusal, 
the younger one adding : 

“ You got your minister off on us yesterday, and we 
heard Bible and praying enough then to make us blue for 
a week. I’d like to see myself going where he is again.” 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


29 


Ray left the house and walked slowly off up town. 
He felt all out of humor with himself, and repeatedly 
said : 

“ Catch me making such a fool of myself again, and 
you’ll catch a weasel asleep.” 

He reached Main Street just as the First Church bell 
tolled for service, and following the people in, took a seat 
in the gallery. He could not remember the time when 
he had been inside of a meeting house before, and gazed 
curiously aroimd at the frescoed walls, the memorial 
windows, and the large organ and choir. 

With the last stroke of the bell the organist struck the 
keyboard, and as the melodious sounds pealed forth the boy 
lost himself in the service. Organ and song, Scripture and 
prayer, and sermon, all had a charm and novelty for him, 
which were irresistible. Mr. Carleton had evidently 
brought with him to the pulpit that morning some of 
that power he had felt a few days before on the hilltops, 
and from the moment he announced his text until he had 
finished the discourse, Ray’s eyes were fastened upon him. 
When he had closed, the boy gave a sigh of satisfaction, 
and said to himself : 

“ He can preach as well as I can throw stones,” which, 
after all, was not so bad a compliment. 

As the congregation was dismissed, Ray followed the 
others down the stairs and out of the vestibule, wondering 
how he should find his way into the schoolrooms. As he 


30 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


passed out of the doors, however, a hand was laid upon 
his shoulder, and Mr. Carleton’s voice said : 

“ I am glad you were here this morning, Ray. If you 
will wait here on the steps a minute or two, I will then go 
with you into the school.” 

As he stood there Mr. Bacon, the superintendent of the 
mills, and to whom he had scarcely ever spoken except in 
a business way, came to him, and shook hands cordially 
with him, saying: 

“Did you enjoy the service, Ray? We are glad to 
have you here ; and, while I think of it, we are going to 
arrange for a Sunday-school and preaching service down 
at the Forge, and we shall look to you to help us make 
it a success.” 

The boy, from amazement, answered not a word, but 
he straightened himself up an inch or two taller at the 
thought that “ Boss ” Bacon and some of the other First 
Church people were going to undertake an enterprise, 
and expected him to help. A new idea of usefulness and 
responsibility slowly crept into his brain. 

Mr. Carleton now joined him, and together they en- 
tered the spacious and tasteful schoolrooms in the rear 
of the main audience room. Down one of the long aisles 
they went, and finally stopped by a class of lads about his 
own age. 

“Miss Squire,” Mr. Carleton said to a dainty, fairy- 
like lady, in charge, “ this is the new scholar I told you 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 31 

about, and I trust you and be will get along so nicely 
together, that we may regard him as a permanent scholar.’’ 
Then to Ray : “ I have no class of my own, Ray, and so 
have decided to put you here with these boys, and this 
teacher. Miss Squire, Master Ray Branford.” And 
then he passed on to the superintendent’s desk. 

“ I am very glad to have you for a scholar,” Miss 
Squire said, in a low, musical voice; and she laid her 
daintily-gloved hand in his. ‘‘ Are you acquainted with 
these lads ? If not, at the close of the school, I shall be 
glad to introduce you. Here, you may take this seat just 
in front of me, Ray.” 

There was something in her manner that relieved the 
lad of his awkwardness and embarrassment, and he 
took the seat she assigned him, and glanced around at 
the faces of his companions. There were nine besides 
himself, but with the exception of two they were 
strangers. He had only a slight acquaintance with 
these two, moreover, having seen them but once or twice 
before at the mills. One was Edward Lawton, the son 
of the president of the mill corporation, the other was 
John Bacon, the son of the mill superintendent. Their 
faces showed that they did not like his entrance to the 
class, and that they regarded him as an intruder. This 
fact, however, instead of disconcerting Ray, only helped 
him to regain his self-possession. “ They don’t want 
me evidently,” he muttered to himself, because I 


32 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


work in their fathers’ mill. Well, that’s a big induce- 
ment to stay.” And he settled back in his chair with an 
air that said, “ I have as much right here as any of you, 
and I propose to maintain it.” 

Miss Squire had been quick to read the faces of the 
other lads, and knew the attitude they had assumed 
toward the newcomer ; she had indeed expected it, and 
prepared herself for it. She was secretly pleased, more- 
over, to notice that Ray, instead of being repulsed by 
their attitude, was all the more determined to remain, 
and she now felt that she would be able to manage the 
situation for the good of all. 

But the stroke of the bell now called the school to 
order, and a moment later four hundred young voices 
united in singing that beautiful hymn beginning: 

“We come with hearts of gladness, 

Our Father and our King ! 

With brows undimmed by sadness. 

Thy wondrous love to sing ; 

To crave thy Spirit’s blessing 
Upon this hallowed hour, 

With grateful love confessing 
Thy wisdom and thy power.” 

With the second verse a tenor voice rang out so loud 
and clear and perfect as to attract attention even amid 
that chorus of voices. Miss Squire, herself a fine singer, 
unconsciously paused to listen to it. Mr. Carleton heard 
it, and silently prayed, “ O Lord, use that voice in thy 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


33 


service.’* The boys in the singer’s class heard it, and 
the most of them were won over to his side as they 
listened, feeling after a boyish fashion that a fellow who 
could sing like that wasn’t so bad, after all. But the 
singer, utterly unconscious of the fact that he had attracted 
any notice to himself, sang on with his whole heart in it, 
and when the hymn was finished, he exclaimed, loud 
enough to be heard by all the class ; “ My ! that’s worth 
coming up here for any day. Do you often sing such 
pieces as that ? ” 

Repressing the laugh that followed by a single glance. 
Miss Squire answered : 

“ It was fine, Ray. God has given you a wonderful 
voice, and you should use it only for him.” 

The boy gave her a pleased look, and then instinctively 
bowed his head as he saw her do, when the prayer was 
offered. The reading for the day was one of David’s 
Psalms. And the superintendent briefly spoke of this, 
and the circumstances under which it had been written, 
before they read it. Ray touched his nearest compan- 
ion, and with a loud whisper, asked : 

“ Was it the same fellow that we are going to study 
about, and who killed the giant ? ” 

Miss Squire placed her hand on his arm, saying : 

“ It was the same one, Ray ; but wait until we begin 
the study of the lesson, and then ask what questions you 
choose.” 

c 


34 THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 

The lesson was soon reached, and after reading the 
verses with her class, Miss Squire laid her Bible down on 
her lap, and said : 

“ Now, I want each one of you to tell me something 
about this stripling David. J ohn, you may commence.’* 

“ He was the son of Jesse,” he answered. 

“ He lived at Bethlehem,” said another. 

“ He kept his father’s sheep,” said a third. 

“ He had been anointed by Samuel to be king over 
Israel,” added a fourth. 

“ He was young, and he killed a giant with a stone 
from his sling,” said Ray, desperately ; “ that’s all I know 
about him, and Mr. Carleton told me that.” 

A general laugh followed. 

“ Boys,” said Miss Squire, earnestly, “ if any of you 
had lived where you never heard who was president of 
the United States, would you want to be laughed at for 
your ignorance ? Ray, unfortunately, has not been as 
favored as you, but he is braver than you all in one 
respect. He is not ashamed to let us know he is ignorant. 
In that very fact we have the assurance that if he has 
the opportunity he will not refuse to learn.” 

Then noticing that Ray had neither lesson-leaf nor 
Bible, she handed her own Bible — an Oxford Teachers’, 
with flexible covers — over to him, saying ; 

“ Here, Ray, take this, and use it until you get an- 
other.” 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


35 


“ Do you mean, take that home with me ? ” he asked, 
in astonishment. 

Yes,” she replied, “ if you will agree to read some in 
it every day, and then come here Sundays, and ask me 
about what you do not, understand.” 

Ray hesitated for a moment, but those earnest eyes 
looked with perfect confidence into his own, as she added : 

“ I know if you will only promise me that, not one of 
my boys here will more surely keep his word.” 

Then Ray saw his mother on her bed of sickness, and 
heard her saying again: “I wish you would go every 
Sunday, Ray.” And reaching out his hand, he put it into 
hers, saying, “ I promise.” 

With a ring of gladness almost triumphant in her 
tones. Miss Squire went on with the lesson, and Ray 
could scarcely believe the hour was up when the bell 
rang for closing, so interested had he become in David 
and the great work he had accomplished. He had asked 
Miss Squire but one question. When she spoke of Da- 
vid’s faith in the Lord, he asked, quickly : 

“What is faith?” 

Her reply was characteristic, and happily illustrated 
her aptness to teach. “Ray,” she asked, “what made 
Mr. Carleton willing, last Thursday, to put his hat back 
on his head, and let you throw another stone at it when, 
had you missed, you might have put out his sight, or en- 
dangered his life ? ” 


36 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


“ He believed I could hit it,” answered the lad, in some 
confusion at the thought that she knew of his audacious 
prank. 

“ In other words, he had faith in your ability to do just 
as you said. And faith in God is believing that he is 
both able and willing to do what he has promised.” 

As Miss Squire met her pastor at the six o’clock prayer 
and praise service, he asked : 

“ Well, what is your impression of the new scholar ? ” 

“ That he is worth saving,” she quickly replied. 

“How much,. with the Master’s help, did you accom- 
plish toward that end to-day ? ” he then inquired. 

“ I got his promise to read the Bible and to come to 
Sunday-school regularly,” she answered ; and, hesitatingly, 
“ I am almost sure I helped him to see what it is to have 
faith in God.” 

“ Well done,” he said; “and I am praying with you 
that the divine seed of this day may have already taken 
root in his heart.” 

Then they parted, each hopeful of the new scholar ; 
and yet so short-sighted is human faith, that had either 
of them known where that scholar was, and what he was 
doing at that very hour, their hopes would have gone 
out in darkness. 

After dinner, Ray had gone across the stream at the 
mills, and into the woods beyond. Putting his fingers 
into his mouth, he had given, in rapid succession, three 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


37 


shrill whistles. In answer, a dozen or more lads of his 
own age had joined him. So soon as all were assembled, 
they formed a ring about their leader, saying : 

“ At thy call, chief of the Night Hawks, we come.” 

“ What is it you comfe for ? ” Ray asked. 

“ To do thy bidding, O chief,” they answered in chorus. 

“Know ye the arch-traitor, Jacob Woodhull?” he 
asked. 

Three groans followed. 

“ I heard him say last evening,” the leader went on, 
“that he should begin to pick his strawberries to-morrow.” 

“ Hear, hpar ! ” cried all. 

“ He told Burnett, the grocer, that he would furnish 
him with twenty boxes to-morrow night, and the Night 
Hawks of Black Forge must see that he breaks his word.” 

“ Hurrah ! hurrah ! ” all cried, with a smacking of 
lips. 

“ Those who want a feast, follow me ! ” Ray cried, and 
started off through the woods, his companions following 
close behind. 

A half mile’s walk brought them to a small clearing 
containing a cabin, barn, crib, and other out-buildings, 
owned by Jacob Woodhull, an eccentric but kind-hearted 
farmer. He made a specialty of small fruits on his little 
farm, finding a ready market for them in the neighbor- 
ing village ; and, as he had no family, he thus made a 
comfortable support for himself. For no good reason 


38 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


the boys at the Black Forge Mills had taken a dislike to 
the man, and frequently annoyed him by pilfering his 
fruits, tearing down his fences, and destroying his 
crops. 

At a signal from Ray, the squad came to a halt just on 
the edge of the woods, and then he said : 

“Well have to wait awhile, boys. The berries are 
just back of the barn, but old Woodhull is in the house. 
By-and-by he will come out of the house to do his chores, 
before going up town to the evening service. Hell go 
into that crib yonder for grain, and 111 slip up and shut 
him in. Then we can pick the berries at our leisure, 
without fear of being disturbed. When we get all we 
want, well let the old fellow out — but hardly in time for 
him to go up to the meeting to-night.” 

“Hurrah for our chief!” the boys cried, in a sup- 
pressed whisper. 

An hour or so later, the door of the house opened, and 
Mr. Woodhull, with no thought of the base trick about 
to be played upon him, came forth. He had a pail in 
his hand, and went down to the spring just back of the 
cabin for water. 

“ Hell go to the crib next,” Ray whispered to his com- 
panions. “ You fellows keep quiet until I have shut him 
in.” And keeping the barn between himself and the 
house, he ran for the crib. Crouching down behind it, 
he waited. 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


39 


Five minutes after Mr. Woodhull again appeared, 
coming directly, as the boy had predicted, for the gran- 
ary. Unlocking it, he entered, and began to fill a meas- 
ure with meal. Before hc^ had accomplished his task, 
however, the door, to his astonishment, was swung to and 
fastened ; then he heard footsteps hastening away. Soon 
after he heard many voices out by the barn, and it at 
once flashed upon him that a raid was being made by the 
factory boys upon his berries. He tried to force open 
the door, but it resisted every efibrt. He looked out of 
a crevice, ])ut the barn was between him and the thieves, 
and he could not see them. He hallooed, but got only 
laughter and derision for an answer. The sun had set, 
and darkness was fast falling, before his release came, 
and even then he got out of the building only in time to 
see a dark form escaping to the woods. 

Lighting a lantern, he hurried out to his strawberry 
bed, to find the plants and unripe berries uninjured, but 
every ripe berry picked as clean as if he had done it 
himself. 

“It is that Ray Branford and his crew!” he ejaculated, 
wrathfully. “ I know it as well as if I’d seen 'em ; but 
it is another thing to prove it.” 

The story reached Mr. Carleton and Miss Squire before 
another Sunday, and, as they talked it over, they said : 
“ How confident we were that he was already impressed 
with a desire to do better I and yet, if it was he, no good 


40 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


impression can have been made upon him, and he is as 
far from the kingdom as ever.’* 

But they only made another mistake, and revealed 
how little they knew of God’s way of working, after all ; 
for the Holy Spirit was already striving with that boy, 
and was leading him surely toward the kingdom. But 
the devil never yet gave up a soul without a struggle, 
and that thieving exploit was one of his wiles to drown 
out the Spirit’s pleadings, and, if possible, to tighten his 
own hold upon the boy’s soul. He, like many of his 
followers, grows more and more desperate when he finds 
he is losing his power. 


CHAPTER III. 


ONE night’s work. 

O N a cold, stormy day, six months later, Mr. Carleton 
sat at his study table, his head bowed upon his 
hands his whole attitude that of dejectedness, if not of 
grief. What was the matter ? 

Has it ever occurred to you, dear reader, that ministers 
are human, just as other men, and that when the visible 
results of their labors are not as great as they have 
hoped for and looked for and prayed for, they sometimes 
lose faith in themselves and their people, and, alas ! too 
often in God ? When this time comes, to whom shall the 
pastor turn for consolation ? His people must never see 
the despondency of his heart, his poor wife has more 
than her share of burdens already ; and so there is but 
one thing he can do : shut himself in his study and lay 
his burdens upon God. 

Things he would readily see were he trying to comfort 
others are hid from his eyes ; promises so rich and full 
and sure when recalled to console others have an empty 
sound to his ears; faith strong and steadfast when he 
has been striving to cheer other hearts has grown feeble 
in his own soul. This, too, many times when there is not 

41 


42 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


the slightest need of it. God is really leading and bless- 
ing the work done for him ; but it is in his way, and not 
in man’s way — and there is where the trouble lies. 

This was the only trouble with Mr. Carleton now. He 
had arranged for so much and expected so much, along 
certain lines and in certain ways, that, now it had not 
come, he at once jumped to the conclusion that God was 
not honoring his ministry at all. Through his lack of 
faith he failed to see that the Lord in his own way was 
accomplishing a work infinitely beyond that which he 
had expected. 

First of all, there was the Black Forge Mission, for 
that had really been established. Some months before 
Mr. Bacon had called on him, announcing in his ofi*-hand 
way the good news : 

“Well, pastor, our directors have decided to fit up a 
room down at the mills for a chapel, and ofier it, rent 
free, to the First Church people as long as they care to 
sustain a Sunday-school and religious services on that 
field.” 

It was a nice room, too, large and well adapted to its 
purpose. One-half of a large storehouse on the main 
street had been partitioned off*, making a room forty by 
sixty feet. This had been plastered and frescoed, a belfry 
put on the roof with its bell, and a library room arranged 
beside the entrance, while four large windows on each 
side gave ample light. 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


43 


Then the First Church people had furnished the room 
tastefully and comfortably. There were four rows of nice 
settees, a platform and desk with its large Bible, Scrip- 
ture mottoes on the walls, books to fill the library shelves, 
and a Bible and singing book for each scholar. When 
the fall months came, two good stoves were added, and 
thus the room was made warm and attractive for all. 

The school had been successful, too, from the outset ; for 
there were nearly two hundred scholars on the roll, with 
an average attendance of an hundred and fifty. The 
preaching services and prayer meetings had not been as 
well attended, it is true, nor had there been any indica- 
tion that souls were anxious to find Jesus. But there was 
nothing strange in this. How long have some of our 
missionaries toiled on their fields before there was any 
indication of the Spirit’s convicting power ? Not months, 
but years. The conditions we are considering were little 
different. Black Forge Mills, when the mission was first 
established, was morally as dark as were some of those 
heathen lands. Still, had Mr. Carleton taken the trouble 
to have questioned Mr. Bacon even, he would have 
learned that there was less drunkenness and brawling 
and Sabbath-breaking among that people now than six 
months before, and had he only watched the children as 
he went among them, he would have noticed that they 
were less rude ; and he knew, had he only taken the 
trouble to recall the fact, that he was much more wel- 


44 


THE BLACK FOKGE MILLS. 


come than at first in those Black Forge homes. God’s 
work was surely being accomplished among that people : 
the faithful seed-sowing in the Sunday-school and fropa 
the pulpit was not to return unto the Master void. 

Then there was Ray Branford. How Mr. Carleton and 
Miss Squire had labored and prayed for his conversion I 
He had kept his promise. Each Sunday had seen him 
in his place. He had each week reported to his teacher 
his readings, and had astonished her with both his ques- 
tions and his answers. Sometimes she had been obliged 
to confess her own ignorance, as his thoughtful and far- 
reaching interrogations were propounded, and had been 
obliged to refer him to Mr. Carleton himself. They all 
noticed, too, the boy’s improvement in appearance and 
morals. Less complaint came to them now than formerly 
of his mischievous pranks and petty pilferings. He came 
and went among them as one whose place was assured. 
He had in many ways been a help to them at the mission 
chapel, and his influence had been heartily given for the 
suppression of all disorder in their services whenever it 
seemed likely to occur. But more than this could not be 
said of him. His conversion seemed as far off* as ever, 
and while attached to Mr. Carleton and his teacher, he in 
no way indicated a desire to know more intimately their 
Master and their Lord. 

Still, had not the changes in the lad been very great — 
as great perhaps as they could reasonably expect ? There 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


45 


■were many scholars in the First Church school better 
favored than this poor lad, and with the best of home in- 
fluences, and yet there had not been so marked changes in 
them as in him. Why be discouraged? Rather, why 
not be profoundly encouraged at the sure manifestations 
of God’s presence with that boy? Now, Mr. Carleton, 
sensible fellow that he was, knew all this, and had it 
been any one but himself who was so dejected, he would 
have thought of it, and with triumph manifest in his 
tones, he would have called their attention to it, and with 
them have thanked God for it. As it was, he just 
bowed there on his hands troubled in spirit, and cried 
out, “ How long. Lord ? Wilt thou hide thyself forever ? ” 

He arose after a time and went to the window, looking 
out upon the rain as it drove itself heavily against the 
panes. 

“ Here it is the night for our prayer meeting, and I’d 
like to know how many will be out in such a storm as 
this,” he muttered, half aloud. “ A mere handful in that 
little back room, when I was counting on so great a 
number.” 

“ In other words, Rev. Ralph Carleton thinks he could 
have arranged the weather better than his Lord, and 
because it does not suit him he must needs find fault, 
and be woefully put out about it,” said a voice behind 
him. 

He turned and looked gravely at his wife, who had 


46 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


entered in time to hear his complaint, and who now 
looked up, half amused and half seriously, into his 
face. 

“The rebuke was needed, Mary,’^ he at last said, 
“and may the dear Master forgive my want of faith.” 
Then drawing her down on the lounge beside him, he 
poured into her sympathizing ears the whole story of his 
dejectedness. She listened attentively until he had 
finished, and then, with mirth dancing in her eyes, though 
her words were grave enough, repeated almost his own 
utterances to one of his members the evening before. 
With his own gesture and • emphasis, she pointed out the 
success of the mission, the great changes in Ray Bran- 
ford, and other marked evidences of God’s blessing upon 
the home church, and closed with the words, “ Physician, 
heal thyself.” 

He heard her through without a comment ; then, drop- 
ping on his knees, he drew her down beside him, and 
begged God’s forgiveness for his want of courage and 
faith, for his desire to have things his own, and not God’s 
way, and thanked him for the true helper and sympa- 
thizer he had given him in his wife. He prayed that 
there might be given to them both fuller grace, greater 
power, and more submissive wills to toil on God’s time 
and in God’s way for the extension of his kingdom on 
the earth. He arose from his knees, saying, “There, 
Mary, I will go back to my work, and even if I have 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


47 


but one out to-night besides myself, they shall have the 
best spiritual food I can give them.” 

The storm increased rather than diminished in violence 
as night came on, and when Mr. Carleton and his wife 
entered the church, they found that the sexton had lighted 
and heated only the small room. But this was large 
enough to hold the bare dozen who had braved the storm 
for that hour of prayer. Two of the deacons and their 
wives, three young ladies who had recently joined the 
church, the sexton and his wife, with Mr. and Mrs. Carle- 
ton made eleven. Who was the twelfth? Will you 
believe it ? It was Ray Branford. Never before had he 
attended a Friday night prayer meeting at the First 
Church; and now to be out in all that storm! It seemed 
easy enough to account for it, when he explained to 
Mr. Carleton, as he shook hands with him, that a neigh- 
bor had been taken • suddenly sick and he had come up 
for the doctor. The doctor wasn’t at home, and wouldn’t 
be for an hour ; and as he was going to ride back with 
him to the Forge, he thought he might as well come in 
to the prayer meeting and wait there, as over at the 
doctor’s office. This was the human explanation of it ; 
but up there in heaven they would have told you it was 
a providence of God. 

Mr. Carleton was very informal in that ser\dce. He 
took his chair right down near his little audience, and 
opening his Bible he read a few verses from the forty- 


48 


-THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


third chapter of Isaiah, and then called on Deacon Blake 
to pray. This good brother was one of those who are 
so rare, who know how to come directly to God and 
tell him just what they need. When he had done that, 
he stopped. It was a very brief prayer, almost as brief 
as that of Bartimeus when he asked the Lord for sight ; 
but all of that little company felt they had been lifted 
right into God’s presence, and that he knew, and would 
give them just what they needed most. Then they sang 
a familiar hymn, after which Mr. Carleton, still sitting in 
his chair, gave them a brief talk. 

“ There is one verse here in this passage I have read,” 
he remarked, “ that I want you all to notice. Fear not : 
for I have redeemed thee; I have called thee by thy 
name: thou art mine.’^ This, of course, applies first to 
God’s chosen people Israel; but secondly, to the spiritual 
Israel, and thus to each child of God. Every one of us 
here to-night, if he belongs to Christ, can claim the 
words. 

“The child of God is admonished to fear not — to let 
nothing trouble him — neither life’s trials nor death itself. 
He of all men should have no cause for alarm. The 
reason for this is threefold. God has redeemed him ; has 
called him by name; has declared, ‘Thou art mine.’ 
This is not a mere repetition of thought. There is a 
gradation and a climax. To be called by name is more 
than mere redemption ; to have it declared that ‘ thou 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 49 

ait God’s is more than the calling by name. There are 
three steps, and they are progressive-^first, redemption, 
then intimacy, and last, identity j^or Christ and his disci- 
ple are one.” 

Then briefly, but pointedly, Mr. Carleton proceeded to 
illustrate the three steps — redemption through Christ, 
intimacy with Christ, and identity with him. He closed 
by quoting the words : “ To him that overcometh will I 
grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also over- 
came, and am set down with my Father in his throne,” 
and added, “When the disciple has placed himself in 
complete submission to the will of God, as did our 
blessed Master, then is this last stage reached — namely, 
his complete identification with his Lord.” 

From the moment that Mr. Carleton read the Scrip- 
ture lesson Ray Branford seemed unusually agitated, and 
before he had finished his remarks great tears were flow- 
ing down the boy’s cheeks. When, however, he at the 
close of the meeting hastened to the lad’s side with the 
anxious inquiry : “ What is it, Ray ? Can I help you ? ” 
the boy hastily brushed away his tears, and brusquely 
replied : “ Those were the words my mother repeated 
when dying.” Then he turned, and fled out into the 
storm and darkness. 

This, then, was the cause for his great agitation, and 
with a shade of disappointment apparent on his face, Mr. 

Carleton turned around to speak with Deacon Blake. 

D 


50 THE BLACK FOKGE MILLS. 

“ Brother Carleton,” said that wise old gentleman, 
“ don’t you know that the Lord can go with that boy in 
all this storm and darkness, and save him, too ? ” And he 
did. 

“ Dr. Gasque, what is it to be a Christian ? ” Ray 
asked, as he got into that gentleman’s buggy, and they 
rode off together toward the Black Forge Mills. 

Now it happened that Dr. Gasque, though a very skill- 
ful physician, and one who prided himself on his strict 
morality, was not a Christian. He was not even a 
church-goer. But he knew Ray’s history well, and 
realized that the boy to ask such a question must be 
thoroughly in earnest. Under the circumstances, then, he 
probably did what was the very best thing to do, for he 
answered : “ I don’t know.” 

“ Well,” said the boy, “ if there is anything in Chris- 
tianity at all, ought not a man who is constantly with 
those who are passing into eternity to know something 
about it himself, that he might tell others of it?” 

The question, startling as it was to the doctor, was 
characteristic of the lad. For some months he had 
manifested a similar directness in his questions to his 
teacher, and to Mr. Carleton. A long silence followed, 
and the lights at the Forge were in sight before the doc- 
tor answered ; but he at last said : “ I suppose he had.” 

“ How would you settle such a question ? ” persisted 
the boy. 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 51 

There came to the doctor a bright vision of a home 
among the New Hampshire hills, and a white-haired 
father and mother praying for their only son, and he 
answered, huskily : “ I should go directly to Christ him- 

self.” 

“ Thank you ! ” Ray said, as he leaped out of the 
buggy, and hastened home. Going directly to his room, 
he closed and locked the door. Then he knelt down by 
his bedside, repeating over and over again the words : 
“ Lord Jesus, take me. Lord Jesus, take me.” 

After a while he rose from his knees, lighted the 
lamp, took his Bible from the old chest in which he kept 
it, and turned over its pages. He was quite familiar 
with them now, and soon found what he wanted. “ Him 
that cometh unto me, I will in nowise cast out.” “ That 
means Ray Branford, just as much as any one else,” he 
commented. He now turned to the story of the Philip- 
pian jailer, and read Paul’s direction to him : “ Believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” “ If 
that was sound advice then, it is sound advice now,” he 
said. “ And Miss Squire says faith is just to believe God 
is both able and willing to do as he promises.” He closed 
the book with a quick snap, and again knelt by the 
bedside. “ Lord Jesus, I come to thee, and I believe thou 
canst and that thou wilt save me now,” he prayed. He 
said it as plainly and simply as he might have asked a 
friend for a book ; or, as a child might come to its 


52 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


mother for a glass of water. Then he rose from his 
knees, and prepared for bed with the air of one who had 
gotten just what he had asked for. It was a very simple 
afiair, after all ; but angels had witnessed the scene, a new 
name had been written down upon the Book of Life, and 
all heaven was moved with joy. For is it not written, 
“ There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over 
one sinner that repenteth ” ? 


CHAPTER IV. 


ray’s confession of CHRIST. 

T he First Church bell tolled loudly for the six o’clock 
prayer and praise service the next Sunday evening. 
As the last stroke sounded Mr. Carleton came rapidly in, 
and took his place at the desk in the main lecture room, 
looking down with cheerful face at the large congregation 
before him. How full the room was ! Not only the 
usual attendants, but such a number of unaccustomed 
ones were there. In the very first seat at the right of 
the centre aisle sat Ray Branford, and beside him his 
sister-in-law. In the very first seat on the left was Dr. 
Gasque and his wife. Back near the door was young 
Harry Gasque, the dissipated son of the doctor, with 
quite a crowd of his immediate associates. Then scat- 
tered here and there were many of the young people from 
the Black Forge Mills. Mr. Carleton’s heart rejoiced to 
see them all, and hq^ said to himself, “ The cold ice of 
indifierence which has so long surrounded us is surely 
yielding ; now may it melt entirely away under the warm 
influence of God’s love.” 

He had a way of conducting that hour of service that 
was peculiarly his own. From the moment he entered 

53 


54 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


tlie desk he never sat down, but with song book in hand, 
and Bible in easy reach, he stood marshaling his people 
throughout the service as a general might marshal his 
forces. “We will sing ‘The light of the World is 
Jesus,’ ” he said ; and the organist struck the first notes. 
Then the room rang with a chorus of voices. When 
three verses of that hymn had been sung, he announced 
another familiar one, and then another, until fifteen 
minutes had been spent in singing the praise of God. 
Scarcely had the last note of the last hymn ended, when 
a short prayer followed, direct, simple, as though it were 
conversation with one close at hand, and ready to grant 
every request. A short Scripture lesson was then im- 
pressively read, and another hymn sung. Twenty 
minutes of the hour was now used. “ Now let us have a 
few brief prayers,” he suggested ; “ who will be the first 
to lead our thoughts upward to the throne ? ” One after 
another the brethren knelt, until twelve short fervent 
supplications had been offered, amid a stillness which w^as 
almost oppressive. Then another hymn was sung, and 
the pastor announced : “We now have twenty minutes 
for testimony. Who will be the first to speak of God’s 
love?” 

Ray Branford, to the amazement of all, was the first 
to speak. “ I want to tell you to-night,” he said, “ that 
I love Jesus. He has forgiven me my sins, and I have 
consecrated my life to him. Will you pray that in all 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


55 


my discouraging surroundings I may never once dishonor 
his name ? 

The hushed silence that followed was broken by the 
voice of Dr. Gasque. Stepping to the front of the desk, 
he turned around and faced the congregation, saying : 
*‘My friends, you all know me. You know how for 
years I have lived among you an ungodly and self-right- 
eous man. I had a Christian father and mother, and for 
years they prayed for their only son, but he was unsaved. 
God gave me a dear Christian wife, and I saw before me 
daily the proofs of Christ’s redeeming and sanctifying 
power ; but I still closed my eyes to the truth, and refused 
to believe. But last Friday evening that boy,” pointing 
to Ray Branford, asked me a question that broke 
through the armor of my unbelief and pierced me to 
the heart. He, as some of you may know, came up to 
the town after me for a sick neighbor. Not finding me 
at home, he dropped into your prayer meeting here to 
pass away the hour until I came. Here words were 
spoken which God used to touch his heart. He came 
out from this house stirred to his very soul and got into 
my buggy, and together we rode toward the Forge. 

“ ‘ Dr. Gasque, what is it to be a Christian ? ’ he sud- 
denly asked me. I saw he was thoroughly in earnest, 
and I dared not counsel him wrongly. ‘ Suppose it was 
your own boy asking that question ? ’ rang in my ears. I 
was compelled to be honest, and replied, ‘I do not know.’ 


56 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


“ His next question staggered me, it was so unexpected. 
* If there is anything in Christianity at all,’ he asked, 
‘ ought not a man who is constantly with those who are 
passing into eternity to know something about it himself 
that he might tell others ? ’ I saw myself and my 
responsibility to God as never before, and for a time I 
knew not what to answer. At length I said, condemning 
myself thereby, ‘ I suppose he ought.’ But the boy had 
another question ready. ‘ How would you settle such a 
question ? ’ he inquired. I thought of my old father’s 
words, and replied : ‘ I would go directly to Jesus.’ Then 
we parted, but as I bent over the sick man I had been 
called to see, and realized that no human power could 
save him, the boy’s question came back to me with 
renewed force. I drove home, but it never left me. I 
entered my room, but it was with me still. I saw I was 
a sinner, hopelessly lost without the mercy of Christ. I 
awoke my wife. I asked her to pray for me, and kneel- 
ing there by her side I found peace. I, too, confess here 
to-night, that I love Christ, and have consecrated my life 
to him. Pray for me.” 

Those who have witnessed similar scenes will readily 
understand the spirit of that meeting for the rest of the 
hour. Mrs. Gasque arose and repeated the divine words : 

It shall come to pass, that before they call, I will 
answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.” 
Then another and another followed until the tolling bell 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 57 

indicated that it was time for the evening preaching 
service. 

“I cannot help feeling that there may be some one 
here to-night,” said Mr. Carleton, in closing, “ who may 
desire Jesus for their friend. If so, will you rise upon 
your feet. Immediately Ray Branford’s sister-in-law 
arose, saying, briefly; “I want to be a Christian.” Was 
that all ? No ; away back near the door a young man 
arose, and in a clear ringing voice, he said : “ To-night I 
believe in a Saviour ; to-night for the flrst time in my 
life I desire to be a Christian. I have been wild and dis- 
solute and wicked. Is there hope for such a one as I 
am?” It was Harry Casque, and the appealing look 
upon his face touched all who beheld it. 

Then Mr. Carleton took those two convicted souls to 
the mercy seat. Tenderly, lovingly he presented their 
cases, and asked that for Jesus’ sake they might now be 
forgiven. What if the church bell was tolling for the 
next service ; these two sin-convicted souls Jjung in the 
balance, and until they found life he must wrestle with 
God. Finally they arose from their knees, and the con- 
gregation was dismissed, but the son could lay his hand 
in that of his father and confidently afiirm, “ Your Saviour 
is my Saviour too,” while the longing, wistful look had 
left the tear-stained face of the penitent woman, and in 
its place there had come one of perfect peace. 

Of course, that night’s incidents were talked about. 


58 


THE BLACK FORGE MILI^. 


All Afton was busy with them for the next few days. 
And just here a strange perverseness of human nature 
cropped out. There was Doctor Gasque, a man who had 
not been inside of a meeting house for years ; who had 
been an acknowledged skeptic ; who on his own confession 
had been exceedingly self-righteous ; and there was his 
son Harry, wild, dissolute, and dissipated ; yet no one 
doubted their conversion. It is so wonderful,” they 
said. “ I am so glad for Mrs. Gasque.” “ What Chris- 
tians they will make ! ” “ What a help to the First 

Church ! ” What influence they will have ! ” — and a 
dozen other equally pleased expressions passed from lip 
to lip. Nor would I for one moment say they were unde- 
served. But the Branfords ! Well, there were Mr. Carle- 
ton and Miss Squire, and old Deacon Blake, and Mr. 
Bacon and others, who believed that their conversion was 
real, and hailed with delight what they believed to be an 
indication that the reformation of the Black Forge people 
was at hand. There were others, however, good church 
people, too, who shrugged their shoulders when Ray and 
his sister-in-law were mentioned, and said : “ I presume 
we must receive them into the church, of course ; but 
they’ll never be any help to us, and very likely they will 
have to be disciplined before a great while.” Others 
shook their heads forebodingly, saying : “ If I were Mr. 
Carleton, I should wait awhile before I was so sure that 
those Branfords were converted : they are a hard set.” 


THE BLA.CK FORGE MILLS. 


59 


Then there were others who shook out the folds of 
their silks, and said, complacently ; 

“ Really, I don’t know what the First Church is coming 
to. Mr. Grundy and I don’t propose to mix with the 
Black Forge people. We haven’t been accustomed to 
associate with such people, and if the First Church in- 
sists on that rabble coming in, we shall take our letters to 
the Central Church. Dr. Lightfoot is as fine a preacher 
as Mr. Carleton, and the people there are so much more 
select.” 

Don’t think, dear reader, I have exaggerated this thing 
at all. ^ For a good many years I have been a church 
member, and acquainted with nearly every phase of 
Christian work ; and I assert, without fear of contradic- 
tion, that there is in many of oip; churches a spirit which 
seeks after those who may be a f inancial and s ocial help 
to the church, while the masses are either neglected or 
looked upon with disfavor. ^ Many Christians still need a 
special vision and a voice from heaven, saying ; “ What 
God hath cleansed, that call not thou common,” before 
they can understand that “God is no respecter of 
persons.” 

In the case of Ray Branford, however it may be else- 
where, these things I have written were actually said. 
It is a veritable history I am writing. Did Ray know 
of these things? Yes; there are always some in a com- 
munity who feel called upon to report to those concerned 


60 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


all they hear about them. Did this drive Ray away 
from the First Church ? No ; and for two reasons. There 
were two traits in his character which enabled him to rise 
above the most exasperating things said about him. 
First, he felt so exceedingly unworthy of the gift of sal- 
vation, and was so amazed at its bestowment upon him, 
that he did not wonder that others doubted that he had 
really received it. Then, too, he had in his make-up a 
bit of that obstinacy which, when he knew what his duty 
was, led him, like Luther, to do it, though a thousand 
popes stood in the way. But this combination of traits is 
exceedingly rare ; and what proved to be an incentive to 
him has deterred many another from doing what was 
known to be duty. 

The actual result from this display of human prejudice 
was not, however, so disastrous in other respects as might 
have been anticipated. Satan sometimes overreaches 
himself, and it proved to be so in this instance. The 
sudden manifestation of God’s grace on that memorable 
evening did not as suddenly depart. Rather it increased 
in power. It pervaded the Sunday-school; it entered the 
homes of the congregation ; it even extended to the 
Black Forge Mission; and before spring came, more 
than a hundred had confessed Jesus as Saviour and Lord. 

Early in the new year, Ray Branford and others 
appeared before the First Church committee as candi- 
dates for admission to the church. That commiteee was 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


61 


composed of wise and judicious men — men wlio loved 
Christ with all their hearts, and were anxious that all 
who would might come unto him. They felt, as Kay re- 
lated his experience, that he gave unmistakable evidence 
of the Spirit’s work in his heart ; and without the slightest 
hesitation they recommended him to the church as one 
worthy of a place in its membership. When this became 
known, the tongues of the gossips were again set in mo- 
tion, and rumor soon had it that, at the preparatory 
service, opposition would be made to his reception. This 
was enough to fill the main lecture room to overflowing 
when that evening came. 

Ray’s relation of his experience was clear, and to the 
unprejudiced, convincing; but when he had retired, and 
opportunity was given for remark, a brother rose, and 
said : 

“ I do not want it understood, brethren, that I actually 
object to this lad, or deny that he is a Christian ; but he 
is young, his surroundings are all against him, and I 
question whether we had not better wait awhile before 
we receive him. If he is truly a Christian, it won’t make 
any difierence ; if he is not, it will be a great deal better 
to wait.” Then he sat down. 

Mr. Carleton sprang to his feet. 

“Will the brother give his Scriptural authority for 
such a course ? ” he asked. 

There was an ominous silence. 


62 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


“ I insist upon it,” Mr. Carleton said ; “ let the brother 
tell us where in all of God’s word he gets his authority 
for his position. I admit this boy’s life has not been all 
we could wish ; I admit his surroundings are all evil. But 
to my mind that furnishes all the greater reason why this 
church, if satisfied he has been redeemed, should throw 
around him her love, her protection, and her care.” 

“Why,” stammered the brother, “I don’t know as 
there is any Scripture that bears on the case, but I think 
there are times when we should be cautious in receiving 
members for the good name of the church, and that no 
reproach be cast upon the cause of Christ.” 

“We should always exercise proper caution in coming 
to a decision as to one's regeneration,” said the pastor ; 
“ but once satisfied that a person is regenerated, there is 
but one course open to us, and that is, to receive him and 
help him in the new life he has begun. Brother Bacon, 
you see more of this lad than the rest of us ; do you think 
his life gives evidence of his conversion ? ” 

Mr. Bacon arose, and said : 

“ I have watched him closely from the night he stood 
and confessed his Saviour. I do see every evidence of a 
change in him. For my own part, I have no hesitancy, 
as one of the examining committee, in recommending him 
to this church as a suitable candidate for baptism.” 

“ Is there any one else who can throw any light on this 
subject?” asked Mr. Carleton. 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


63 


The tall, lank form of Jacob Woodhull slowly rose. 
Though a very eccentric man, he had been for years a 
member of the church, and a constant attendant upon its 
services, but seldom took part in its deliberations. His 
rising then filled all with surprise. 

“ Brethren,” he said, “ I was here the night that boy 
first spoke for Jesus. I went out from' that meeting and 
talked as hard against him as any one. You see it has 
always been a notion of mine that a repentant person 
should go back to the very beginning of his evil course, 
and repair so far as possible the injuries he may have 
done. If I understand the Bible it teaches this. So I 
argued, if this boy is really changed, he’ll own up to me 
some of those rascally scrapes he's been in, down at my 
farm. I kept my notion to myself, but I just talked 
against the boy, and I said it will take a powerful sight 
to make me believe he is converted. You see I kinder 
doubted Christ’s power in saving such a lad — not that 
I meant to; but that’s what it amounted to, all the 
same. 

“ Well, the very next night, as I was doing my chores, 
who should come to my house but this Kay Branford. ‘ I 
want to see you on business, Mr. Woodhull,’ he said. 
‘ Well, here I am,’ I answered, gruffly. ‘ Do you remem- 
ber how, one fall, some one stole your watermelons ? ’ he 
asked. ‘ Yes,’ said I, kinder getting an idea of what he 
was driving at. ‘ And your strawberries, and apples, and 


64 THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 

pears/ lie goes on, naming the times. ‘ Yes,’ answered I, 
shortly. * How much,’ inquired he, ‘ would pay you for 
them all? ’ I thought it over, and to test his repentance, 
I put it just as high as I could. * About twenty-five dol- 
lars,’ I answered. Would you believe it, that youngster 
took out a roll of bills, and said, * Here, Mr. W oodhull, is 
fifteen dollars that I have been saving to get me some 
clothes with ; but I will give you that now, and I will pay 
you the other ten as soon as I can save it. Will you forgive 
me ? ’ My brethren, you could have knocked me down 
with a feather then, so to speak. I never was so ashamed 
in my life. I shook hands with him, but I took the 
money, and I have taken the other ten. Perhaps you 
think I was hard on him, so I’ll just say that boy isn’t 
going to lose anything by it. 

“After he had gone I went into the house and opened 
the Bible, and read about Zaccheus. Then I said, ‘ There, 
Jacob Woodhull, you and some other folks are like those 
self-righteous citizens of Jericho. You have wondered 
why the Lord wanted to go down to that Branford house 
and stop with such miserable sinners. Meanwhile, that 
boy, just like Zaccheus, has stood and said, ‘ Lord, if I 
have taken anything from any man, I restore him four- 
fold,’ for I reckon he has just about settled with me in 
that proportion. And all the time the Master was say- 
ing, ‘This day is salvation come to this house, foras- 
much as he also is a son of Abraham.’ I guess, brethren, 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


what the Lord has cleansed, we better not call either 
common or unclean.” 

Amid an impressive silence he sat down, and a unani- 
mous vote was cast for the lad’s acceptance. 

Nor did the First Church people ever have cause to 
regret that vote ; indeed, in after years they were accus- 
tomed to allude to that hour, and with pardonable pride 
assert, “Among all we have received into this church, 
no one has given more marked evidence of conversion 
than has Ray Branford, or that the Divine voice said 
unto him, ‘ Fear not ; for I have redeemed thee.’ ” 


E 


CHAPTER V. 


OLD TIES SEVERED. 


HE month of March opened cold and stormy. All 



JL day long the rain and sleet had fallen unceasingly. 
As night approached there was no cessation of the storm ; 
it had rather increased. During the evening the wind 
veered. The cold was growing more and more intense. 
The clouds lowered darkly, and prematurely hid the day, 
while they poured their watery contents down in sweep- 
ing floods. 

It was the evening for the weekly prayer meeting at 
the First Church, and Ray Branford put on his coat, and 
prepared himself to face the storm. 

“Are you going up to the church to-night?” his sister- 
in-law asked, in surprise. 

“Yes; I haven’t missed a prayer meeting yet; I am 
well and strong, and I see no reason why I shouldn’t go 
to-night,” he replied. 

“ I wish you wouldn’t go, Ray,” Betsy said. “ I’m all 
alone with the children, and it is so stormy. I thought 
perhaps you’d stay and read to me.” 

Ray glanced at the clock. “ I can wait a half hour, and 
then get there in time for the meeting ; what shall I read ? ” 


66 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


67 


“Oh, select some chapter full of comfort,” she answered, 
“for I’m just about discouraged. I believe George 
delights to do everything he can to try me since I became 
a Christian. He spends more time at the saloon, and 
don’t help me near as much with the children. You 
know just how father has gone on since mother died ; 
there is hardly a day he has been sober. The girls, too, 
say the most provoking things they can think of. I tell 
you, Ray, I find it pretty hard to do just as Jesus wants 
me to all the time. I wonder, sometimes, how you bear 
it all so patiently ; you never ^eem to get discouraged.” 

“Yes I do,” he quickly replied. “I find it hard 
among these old associations to keep from sin. The boys 
try every way to make me mad, and they have succeeded 
more than once. Only the other day I knocked John 
Gardiner down for calling me names, and to-day I almost 
swore at Ned Clark for breaking the yarns on my jack. 
The oath got clear to my teeth, and I shut it off with 
such force, it almost took my breath away. And you 
know just how father and the boys treat me. Not a week 
passes that they don’t curse me for what they call my 
oddities. I tell you, Betsy, it*s as hard for me as for you 
to show the spirit of Jesus at all times. I sometimes 
think, ‘Has this got to be always?’ I want to do some- 
thing besides spin all my life. I wish I could get an 
education ; I want to fit myself for Christ’s work.” And 
the boy sighed heavily. 


68 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


These two, since their conversion, had, as often as 
possible, read the Bible and prayed together, but never 
before had Kay spoken of the longings of his heart. 
Betsy looked up in quick sympathy with him, saying: 

“ I wish you might become a preacher ; wouldn’t it be 
grand ? ” 

“Yes; and I do feel called to that very work. I felt 
it at times before I even accepted Jesus. I mean to obey 
the call, too, just as fast as Jesus will show me the way.” 

He now opened his Bible and read the ninety-first 
Psalm ; then knelt and offered a brief prayer, the burden 
of which was that he and his sister-in-law might never be 
discouraged, but, sure of the Master’s presence and help, 
might ever walk in the path of known duty. After this, 
he started for up town. 

It was a cold and dreary walk. The rain had turned 
to snow or fine sleet, which the wind blew furiously, 
driving it with blinding force into his face, and but for 
the street lamps he would have lost his way. He arrived 
at the church wet and cold, and well-nigh out of breath, 
lo find but a bare half dozen besides the pastor. Even 
he seemed surprised to see the boy on such a night, and 
so expressed himself as he shook hands with him. 

“I had no good excuse for not coming,” the lad 
answered, simply. 

Mr. Carleton smiled as he looked down into that 
earnest face, and said: “There are a good many nearer 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


69 


the meeting house than you, who have evidently regarded 
this storm as sufficient excuse for not coming.” Then 
to himself: “God surely has not bestowed such an un- 
flinching regard for duty upon this lad without having 
some special work for him to do ; he must be helped to 
something better than running a jack in the Black Forge 
Mills.” But he little knew how that little prayer meet- 
ing, even as one a few months before, was, by the blessing 
of God, going to become an important factor in changing 
the whole current of the lad’s life. 

He read the sixth chapter of Second Corinthians for 
the Scripture lesson of the evening, and talked briefly 
upon the words of the seventeenth verse: “Wherefore 
come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the 
Lord.” 

“ Paul, in this chapter,” he said, “ is showing the 
Corinthian Christians that there is no fellowship between 
righteousness and unrighteousness, or between the be- 
liever and the unbeliever. The Christian cannot con- 
tract worldly friendships, nor enter into any connection 
with unbelievers which requires much familiar inter- 
course, lest he be tempted to join with the unbeliever 
in his wicked principles and practices. As the privileges 
conferred upon the Jews obliged them to withhold 
themselves from all heathen intercourse, and from the 
pollution of every unclean thing, so, the apostle argues, 
the followers of Christ, on account of the special favors 


70 


THE BLACK FOKGE MILLS. 


and blessings they have received, are much more under 
obligations to keep themselves separate from all impure 
associations and unholy practices. He then, to enforce 
his argument, quoted these words: ^Wherefore come out 
from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, 
and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive 
you, and will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my 
sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.’ ” 

Ray listened attentively to Mr. Carleton’s remarks. 
He always did. But what he carried away from that 
prayer room was the divine command : “ Wherefore come 
out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the 
Lord.” The words rang in his ears. They went home with 
him. They even followed him into the mill. He could 
not shake them off. He read them over and over again. 
He prayed over them. They had but one meaning to 
him. He gave them the most literal interpretation. He 
must leave his old associations, he must abandon his 
old life, he must sever the old ties ; and he was fully 
persuaded that only thus could he secure the highest 
spiritual development, and prepare himself for the work 
of God. 

He talked the matter over with Betsy a few evenings 
later. But she, with a puzzled look upon her face, finally 
asked : “ If those words mean what you say they do, what 
is my duty ? Am I to take the children, and leave here 
too ? How in the world am I to care for them if I do ? ” 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


71 


“ Don’t you see, Betsy,” Ray answered, eagerly, “ those 
words may mean more to me than to you? You have 
ties ; you had them before your conversion, and you can- 
not break them without wrong to others. The words mean 
to you to come out and be separate from all in your sur- 
roundings that will hinder your fidelity to the Saviour. 
But those things you can do and still honor Jesus, you 
have a right — nay, it is your duty to do. The words mean 
the same to me, but in my case may have a wider bear- 
ing than in yours. I can leave home, I can leave the 
mill, I can sever the old life, and instead of neglecting 
any duty, I shall be placing myself where I can do far 
more for the Master. I feel he is calling me to a higher 
work. I am sure that in my present life and surround- 
ings there is little if any opportunity to prepare myself 
for obeying that call. I must seek some other work. I 
must find some way wherein I can carry out the Master’s 
wishes.” 

“ Why don’t you go and talk with Mr. Carleton about 
it ? ” inquired Betsy. 

I would, but he might think I was asking for help ; 
then, too, what may seem plain duty to me may not seem 
so to him. When my life and my growth in grace and 
knowledge of Jesus are such as to lead him to believe 
I am called to the Master’s work, I will tell him freely 
of my convictions. So far I have confessed them only to 
you. For the present I must fight out the battle alone. 


72 THE BLACK FORGE MILT^. 

All I can do is wait, watch, and pray for God to open up 
the way for me. He knows I am willing to walk in any 
path he may mark out for me. In his own time he will 
show me what he would have me to do.” 

Several weeks passed away. Ray patiently did the 
work before him, but the conviction grew stronger and 
stronger in his heart that his mill life was drawing to a 
close ; that before a great while the Lord would throw 
open a door through which he might go on toward his 
most cherished hopes. And, as is often the case in God’s 
dealings with us, it was opened so unexpectedly, and so 
naturally and simply, that only those who recognize 
God’s hand in everything would have seen his hand in it 
at all. 

There came a warm bright Sunday in April. The 
snow had left the hills ; the grass was starting up fresh 
and green ; the trees were showing their tiny buds ; here 
and there in some sheltered nook an early flower had 
ventured to open its bright face, as a harbinger of others 
to come. 

Ray had been to church and Sunday-school as usual, 
and now, dinner having been eaten, he stood on the door- 
steps looking off toward the hills. “ I am in the mood 
to-day for a tramp,” he said, “ and it is a long time since 
I went up to the top of Pine Hill. I guess I’ll take a 
walk up there, and come down the other way in time for 
the evening service.” So calling out to Betsy that he 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


73 


would meet her at the church at the hour for service, he 
started off on his long tramp. 

The path wound around the edge of the hill, and soon 
ran along a precipice just above the highway. He sat 
down here and looked off toward the mills, his thoughts 
busy with the changes of the past year. He was soon 
lost in his reverie, and took no note of what was passing 
around him until aroused by the sound of an approach- 
ing wagon. He looked down, and saw a pair of horses 
and a light wagon in which were two men passing 
directly beneath him. One of the men was Jacob Wood- 
hull and the other was his nephew, George Woodhull, 
who owned a large farm down on the east shore of the 
bay. Ray remembered now that Jacob Woodhull had 
not been at church or Sunday-school that morning, and 
thought: “He has been down to his nephew’s to-day, 
and is just coming home.” 

The men were busy talking, and did not notice the 
boy a hundred feet or so above. “ I tell you, George,” 
Mr. Jacob Woodhull .was saying to his companion, “this 
boy will just suit you ; I will guarantee that he is thor- 
oughly reliable, and I think he will be glad to leave the 
mill. Anyway, we can ” And the rest of the sen- 

tence was lost by the horses breaking into a fast trot, and 
soon disappearing around a sharp turn in the road. 

Ray rose and went on, his mind busy with what ha 
had overheard. “ My ! ” he ejaculated, “ I wonder if they 


74 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


meant me. Wouldn’t I just like to work for George 
Woodhull. I can assure them I am ready to leave the 
mill any time to go there.” 

‘ He reached the summit of the hill, and for a time 
gazed around in delight on the landscape presented to 
his view. He felt that the scene, had never seemed half 
so beautiful before. He forgot that the change was more 
within himself than in the outer world. There had been 
in him a growth that he scarcely realized. His spiritual 
eyes were opened. He saw beauty where he had never 
seen it before, because he discerned in all things now the 
finger prints of God. 

His eye finally rested upon the east shore of the bay, 
and he readily picked out from among the others the 
farm he knew was Mr. George Woodhull's. This 
brought to his mind again the conversation he had 
heard, and falling there upon his knees he prayed that 
if God so willed he might find an* opening out from the 
old life just here. 

He was scarcely surprised, then, when Mr. Jacob 
Woodhull joined him at the close of the evening service, 
and, as they walked on together, asked ; 

“ Ray, have you ever felt like giving up your mill life 
for something better?” 

“ Yes, sir,’* he promptly replied. “ Just as soon as 
God gives me the opportunity.” 

“ You know my nephew, George Woodhull, who owns 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 75 

the big farm down on the east shore, don’t you ? ” his 
companion then asked. 

“ I know him by sight,” admitted Ray, “ though I 
never spoke with him that I remember of.” 

“Well,” continued Mr. Woodhull, “he came up after 
me this morning — had an awful sick cow, and wanted 
me to doctor it ; that’s the reason I wasn’t at church ; — 
and I find he wants to get a young fellow he can trust to 
come on his place this summer. He’s going into the 
stock business, and will be away a good deal. He wants 
some one to look out for the stock, and around the house ; 
to be company and protection for Mrs. Woodhull when 
he’s away. There are two other men to attend to the 
farmwork, so the place won’t be so awful hard for the 
one who gets it. I kinder recommended you. You see, 
George and his wife are earnest Christians, members of a 
little church down near their place. Then he has lots of 
books, and Mrs. Woodhull was a school teacher before 
she was married, and teaches her own children ; ’twill be 
a capital place for you to brush up your studies, if you 
wanted to do such a thing. But I tell you : he’s going to 
be over to my house to-morrow night. Come over about 
dusk, or soon as you can after supper, and we’ll talk it 
over.” 

So early the next evening Ray found himself face to 
face with Mr. George Woodhull, and listened with glow- 
ing cheeks to that gentleman’s proposition. 


76 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


“ Your work will be entirely about the bouse and 
barns,” be said, “ and there will be nothing you cannot 
easily learn to do. What I want is to have some one at 
the farm when I am away, who I know is thoroughly 
trustworthy, and who will see that everything is kept up 
in proper order. You may go to just as many meetings as 
you please, as long as your duties are not neglected ; and 
we’ll give you every opportunity to read and study that 
is possible. I’m willing to pay you well for the work, 
say twenty-five dollars a month, for eight months, to 
begin as soon as you can get away from the mill. Are 
you willing to come ? ” 

Willing? . Wasn’t it for just such an opportunity that 
he had for weeks been praying ? And with a thankful 
heart he accepted the position, to begin two weeks from 
that very day, as he could not get away from the mill 
before that. But what amazed him most was the com- 
pensation offered ; and it was not until years after that he 
knew that Mr. Jacob Woodhull had added an extra five 
dollars to each month’s pay, it being one of the ways 
that the eccentric old man had taken to see “ that that 
boy lost nothing by settling up his old scores with him ” ; 
and there were others to follow. 

After the lad had gone, the two men spent some time 
planning for his farther advancement just as fast 
as he should prove worthy of it, and they did it with a 
heartiness that showed a deep interest in him already 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


77 


awakened in their hearts. Had either one of them been 
asked to account for this interest, he would have softly 
repeated the Master’s words : “ Whosoever shall give to 

drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water 
only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he 
shall in no wise lose his reward.” 

It was the Master’s work, and done for the Master’s 
sake. 


CHAPTER VI. 


LONG POINT FARM. 


WENSETT BAY, at the head of which the town of 



Vy Afton stood, was a beautiful sheet of water. It was 
six or eight miles long, and three to four miles broad, 
and for the most part comparatively regular in the 
curvature of its shores. On the east side, however, there 
was one marked exception, as about five miles down the 
bay a point of land, nearly a mile long, and half as 
broad, jutted directly out into the water. This point of 
land was owned by Mr. George Woodhull, and formed 
what was known in the neighborhood as “Xong Point 
Parm.’^ 

Mr. Woodhull had inherited the property from his 
father, but through an untiring industry and indomitable 
thrift, had gone on making change after change, and 
adding improvement to improvement, until the place was 
now regarded as in many respects “ the model farm ’’ of 
the locality. Ray Branford, as on the morning of his 
arrival there he accompanied Mr. Woodhull about the 
place, thought nothing more could be added to it, either 
in convenience or usefulness. 

On a pleasant knoll, and commanding a fine view up 


78 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS, 


79 


and down the bay, was the farmhouse, spacious in size, 
and neat and tasteful in all its appointments. Back of 
this, and a little to the right, was the horse barn, with its 
carriage shed, harness room, and granary. To the left, 
but farther away, was the huge cattle barn, fitted with 
every modern appliance for the convenient and systematic 
care of a noble herd of Jerseys. Beyond this, and on a 
line with the farmhouse, was the tenement house for the 
hired man and his family. Then, arranged in near 
proximity, were the hennery, the sheep barn, and the other 
out-buildings so necessary to a well-ordered farm. Every 
building was in thorough repair, the walks and drives 
running between them were neatly kept, the walls and 
fences of the meadows and orchards and pastures ex- 
hibited a similar care, and the whole appearance of the 
farm spoke of the thrift and thoroughness for which its 
owner was noted. 

“ I have found,'’ said Mr. Woodhull, as he showed Bay 
what there was to be done at each building, “that the 
animals on a place do a great deal better under one 
person’s care, and when one person is held responsible for 
them. They are more systematically cared for, the food 
goes farther, and the cattle thrive better. It is on this 
account I have hired you. Mr. Smith, my hired man, 
and his two grown sons will look out for the farmwork. 
You are simply to look out for the live stock, to take the 
produce to market, and go up town on the errands that 


80 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS, 


may be necessary for the house. Sometimes you will use 
the horses to do this ; at other times, when the wind is 
favorable, you will go by boat, as that is the shorter and 
quicker way to town. On Sundays you are to have a 
horse to go up to the morning service and to the Sunday- 
school at Afton, if you so choose. Sunday evenings you 
will, on account of the chores, have to be back here at 
the farm. Friday nights if you care, after your work, to 
take a boat and go over to the prayer meetings, I have 
nothing to say. When I am not at home, Mr. Smith 
will see that the folks are taken over to our little 
church. We understand the arrangement now; so come 
on to the house and get acquainted with the women folks, 
for you are to be one with us.” 

Ray found that the immediate household at Long Point 
Farm cqnsisted of Mr. Woodhull, his wife, their three 
children, Georgie, a boy of eight, and twin girls of three, 
and Mrs. Berray, the mother of Mrs. Woodhull. He 
was so cordially welcomed by them all that he at once 
felt at home. Mrs. Berray, the mother, when she shook 
hands with him, looked long and searchingly into his 
face, and then said: 

“ They tell me thou hast chosen that good part, like 
Mary of old, which shall not be taken from thee. Never 
forget to daily thank the Master for that great gift ; and 
may thy coming to this house be a blessing to us and to 
thee.” 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


81 


When shown to his room, Ray found it was a large 
one on the second floor, and so chosen that he could look 
from its windows off over the bay toward Afton, and 
when the weather was fair he could plainly see the spire 
of the First Church pointing heavenward. 

The room was well furnished, and in one corner was a 
bookcase well filled with books. Every convenience for 
writing and for study was on the open desk, and the boy’s 
heart was filled with thankfulness toward God and his 
new friends, as he realized that there was nothing now to 
prevent his spiritual and intellectual advancement. 
Before he retired that night, he wrote out a set of rules 
which should now govern him as he began his new life. 
These he placed where each morning and evening he 
could readily behold them, and each rule was followed 
with the Scriptural reason for adopting it. He always 
said they were of great help to him in his Christian life ; 
and that they may possibly be of some help to other 
young Christians, I give them here : 

Rule I. — I will ever remember whose I am and whom I serve. 

“Ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price.'' 

Rule II. — I will do all things thoroughly and well, and to the 
glory of God. 

“ Whether therefore ye eat or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all 
to the glory of God." 

Rule III. — I will daily look to God for wisdom, strength, and 
grace. 

“ If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to 
all men liberally, and upbraideth not ; and it shall be given him." 

F 


82 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


Rule IV. — I will give one-tenth of every dollar that comes 
into my hands unto the Lord. 

“ Of all that thou shalt give me, I will surely give the tenth 
unto thee.^^ 

Rule V. — I will use every possible opportunity to win others 
for Christ. 

“ He that winneth souls is wise.’^ 

The days now glided swiftly by. Kay soon mastered 
the routine of his work, and found his duties neither 
onerous nor exacting; he also proved to his employer 
that he was both willing and capable. It was soon evi- 
dent, moreover, that his outdoor life agreed with him. 
For some months before he left the mill all had noticed 
that he was growing thin and pale, exceedingly nervous, 
and unable to sleep well at night. Now he ate heartily 
and slept well, while the sun browned his cheeks, and the 
fresh air filled out his frame. His daily intercourse with 
refined and Christian people gave new tone to his own 
walk and conversation; his study and his reading im- 
proved his mind ; the spiritual influences thrown around 
him elevated his soul. He had told Mr. Carleton and 
Miss Squire, on the first Sunday he went up to the vil- 
lage, of the change he had made in his occupation and 
home, and they now noted the changes in him, and 
silently thanked God for them. 

He had been at Long Point Farm but a short time 
when Mrs. Woodhull had asked him about his studies. 
She had proposed to him when at Afton to call on the 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


83 


principal of the town school and ascertain what studies 
it would be necessary for him to make up, in order to 
enter the school the next fall in the classes with those of 
his own age. He had done this, and came home with a 
pile of books that was absolutely appalling to any one 
with a less indomitable courage than he possessed. Mrs. 
Woodhull had found some of the studies beyond her 
ability to teach him, and, while she offered to help him 
with such as lay within her power, she proposed that he 
should go up to Mr. Carleton once a week and receive 
help on the others. Mr, Carleton readily consented to 
the arrangement, and so every Friday night Kay went 
home with Mr. Carleton from the prayer meeting and 
spent an hour on his Latin and geometry. It made him 
late home at the farm, but as he was always up in time 
for his morning work, Mr. Woodhull made no objection 
to the plan. 

The boy’s life was a busy one now. From early in the 
morning until dark he kept at his farm duties. For 
three hours every evening he read or studied. On Sun- 
days he always attended the morning preaching service 
and Sunday-school at Afton. On Friday evenings he 
rowed or sailed over to the village for the prayer meet- 
ing and his recitations ; or if the weather did not permit 
his going by water, he walked the whole distance of seven 
miles around the road to the village, and then walked 
back to the farm. He did this a number of times until 


84 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


Mr, WooShull interfered, saying: “ I did not mean, Ray, 
you should not take a horse on Friday nights, when I 
told you you could go by boat. I never once thought of 
your going when you couldn’t cross the bay. After this, if 
you can’t go by boat, and must go, take one of the horses.” 

Before three months had passed away Ray had so fully 
gained the confidence of his employer by his fidelity and 
industry, that that gentleman hardly knew how he could 
get along without him. “ Uncle Jacob,” he said one day 
as he was talking with him about the boy, “ you needn’t 
pay that extra five dollars on the boy’s monthly salary ; he 
earns every bit of it, and I can better afibrd to give it to 
him than I can to have him go. He is the best help, 
without exception, I ever hired ; and do you know he is 
serving the Master as faithfully as he is serving me. 
There is Smith, my hired man, and his two sons ; they 
were good moral fellows, but not a bit religious when 
Ray came. Now all three are reading their Bibles and 
praying daily, and when they related their experiences 
last week each one admitted it was something that boy 
said to them that first started him on the heavenly road. 
Every animal on the place loves him, and he can do 
almost anything he wants to with them ; and as for the 
children, any one of them will go to Ray sooner than to 
their mother or to me. After this. Uncle Jacob, you may 
pick out my help for me, if you will guarantee that they 
will all turn out as well.” 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


85 


The old gentleman shook his head slowly : “ I can’t do 
it, George, for to my mind, not one in ten is so thoroughly 
converted as he was ; and to think so many of us were 
afraid the Lord hadn’t done it. Guess it will be some 
time before the First Church people make another such 
mistake.” 

Then there came an incident in the Long Point Farm 
life long to be remembered, and which so endeared Ray 
to Mr. and Mrs. Woodhull that from that hour they 
regarded him as their son. 

George and the twins had gone out to play. For a 
time they ran about the lawn in front of the house, but 
the gate into the lane had been left open, and the chil- 
dren soon discovered it. Though they had been told 
again and again not to go out of the yard, the tempta- 
tion was great, and their little memories were short, and 
a bright idea crept into Georgie’s brain. So he proposed 
to the twins : “ Ray has gone up to the town, and will be 
back soon ; let us go and meet him.” The twins were 
nothing loth, as a ride after Old Jim, the horse, was the 
height of their childish ambitions, and away the three 
trudged down the lane. 

Before a great while they grew tired and sat down to 
rest by a gate opening into one of the pastures. Some 
bright flowers in the field attracted the attention of one 
of the twins, and, clapping her tiny hands, she cried : 

“Pitty flow’s! pitty flow’s! Me get ’em for mamma’.’ 


86 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


“All right,” said the undaunted Georgie; “Fll get 
them for you.” And he began to climb over the gate. 

“ Me come, too ! ” both twins screamed, and managed 
to squeeze their little bodies between the bars of the gate, 
and the three children were soon busy picking the 
flowers that grew in such profusion at their feet. 

Now, it happened that Mr. Woodhull had arrived home 
but a few days before with a drove of half-wild steers, 
and they were turned into this pasture. The children, 
accustomed to the sight of cattle daily, had thought 
nothing of the presence of the steers, though they saw 
them at no great distance away. To their childish minds 
they were no more to be feared than the good, kind 
cows Ray drove back and forth from the other pasture 
every day. 

But one of the steers, wilder and flercer than the rest, 
had caught sight of the little ones, and, possibly attracted 
by the bright garments they wore, now came pawing and 
bellowing down toward them. The children cried out in 
their fright, and ran for the gate. But they had uncon- 
sciously wandered some distance from it, and before they 
had reached it the steer was upon them. 

Meantime, the mother had missed the children, and 
had come out to the lane to look for them. She heard 
their screams, and at once surmised their cause. With a 
swiftness such as only a mother who realizes the danger 
that threatens her children can know, she sped down the 






Black Forge Mills. 


Page 87 



THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


87 


lane toward the pasture. But swift as she went, she 
would not have arrived there in time to save her 
darlings ; they must have been gored and trampled to 
death had there not been providentially one nearer than 
she. Kay, from up the lane, had seen the children get 
through the gate into the field. He realized the danger 
that threatened them even before it appeared, and, 
whipping up his horse, he drove rapidly toward them. 
When the steer rushed for the children he was nearly to 
the gate, and driving close up to it he sprang over into 
the field, grabbing the broad leather strap to which the 
hitching weight was attached as he went. Swinging this 
over his head, he rushed between Georgie, who had 
manfully turned to defend his little sisters, and the steer, 
and brought the weight full down upon the furious 
animal’s head. The beast was stunned for a moment, 
and Kay shouted to Georgie to take his little sisters and 
run into the lane. 

The steer now turned his attention to Kay, and the 
children easily reached the gate, just as their mother 
arrived there also. She helped them up into the wagon, 
and then breathlessly watched the conflict between the 
heroic lad and the infuriated beast. As the steer rushed 
for him, Kay once more swung the weight with both 
hands, and brought it down upon his bellowing antag- 
onist. It struck one of his horns, and breaking it 
ofl) sent a stream of blood over the animal’s face. 


88 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


Disconcerted, bewildered for a moment, be paused and 
tore up tbe turf in his agony and fury. 

Ray took advantage of this, and, turning, he ran for 
the lane, but before he reached the fence the steer again 
charged upon him. So sudden was the attack that the 
lad only had time to make a short whirl with his weapon, 
which, as it came around, swung over the animals neck 
and down under his fore feet. There was force enough 
in it, however, to trip the beast, and he fell heavily for- 
ward, breaking a leg. Ray, breathless with his severe 
exertion, now crawled over the gate and into the wagon, 
just as Mr. Woodhull and Mr. Smith came running up 
with pitchforks in their hands to his rescue. 

As modestly as possible the boy explained the circum- 
stances under which he had found the children, and how 
he had rescued them ; but Mrs. Woodhull did not hesitate 
to call his act heroic, and thanked and complimented 
him in turn, until the lad’s cheeks fairly burned with 
embarrassment. From that hour his position at Long 
Point Farm was more that of a son than a servant ; and 
it was well, indeed, that he had such friends, for the time 
was near at hand when he was to stand in sore need of 
them. 


CHAPTER VII. 


THE BURGLARY. 


LL Afton awoke one Saturday morning in July, and 



TX speedily went into a state of intense excitment. 
One of its largest stores on the main street had been 
forcibly opened during the night, and robbed of goods 
to the value of several hundred dollars. 

The robbery was not discovered until the proprietor had 
come down to the store in the morning, at the usual hour. 
Examination then showed that the burglary had doubt- 
less been committed by some one who was well acquainted 
with the premises, and also by some one unaccustomed to 
such work. An expert would have made a neater and a 
more thorough job of it. 

The block in which the robbed store was situated stood 
at the corner of Main and Bank Streets, and but a short 
distance from the Bay ; in fact, a narrow lane ran from 
the rear of the building directly down to the wharves. 
The entrance to the store had been gained from an ad- 
joining one, which at that time was unoccupied. The 
back door of the empty store had been carelessly left 
unlocked, and the robbers, entering this room, had sawed 
a hole in the partition between the stores large enough to 


89 


90 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


permit them to crawl through. It then had been an easy 
task, apparently, for them to unfasten the back door of 
the occupied store, and carry the stolen goods down the 
narrow lane to the dock without being discovered. Here 
they had possibly stowed the plunder they had obtained 
into a boat, and carried it away. These facts showed 
that whoever the guilty parties were, they were perfectly 
familiar with the store and its surroundings. 

On the other hand, the entrance to the store had been 
effected in a bungling and unworkmanlike manner ; and 
though an attempt had been made to blow up the store 
safe, it had evidently failed because the burglars had no 
proper tools for accomplishing their purpose. There was 
also an apparent haste and indiscrimination in the selec- 
tion of the goods that had been taken, which an expert 
thief would scarcely have manifested. Indeed, many of 
the articles taken seemed to suggest that the robbers were 
youthful as well as inexperienced. These circumstances 
together with the evident familiarity of the thieves with 
the store, led the proprietor and the police to believe that 
the burglary had been committed by some one living in 
or near the town; and consequently they began their 
search for the criminals right at home. 

It was not long before they found what appeared to 
them to be several important clues leading toward the 
identification of the thieves. A heavy thunder shower 
had set in the night before, about ten o’clock, and had 


THE BLJLCK FORGE MILLS. 


91 


continued until long after midnight. Tracks at the rear 
door of the store revealed the fact that the robbeiy must 
have taken place after the storm, and that there were two 
burglars, if not more. A small piece of cloth was found 
attached to the edge of the hole in the partition, and had 
the appearance of having been torn from the coat of one 
of the robbers as he crawled through the opening. Later 
in the day a coat was found under a pile of lumber on 
the wharf, of the very same material as the scrap of cloth 
which had been found attached to the partition between 
the stores, and, wrapped inside of it, were the saw and 
auger which had been used to gain entrance to the build- 
ing. It was soon rumored also that this coat had been 
identified, and that one or more arrests might be expected 
any moment. 

It was Ray himself who had brought the tidings of the 
robbery to Long Point Farm. He had gone over to the 
town the night before in the large sail boat, as he was to 
bring back a load of grain. Mr. Woodhull had tried at 
first to dissuade him from going, as there were already 
signs of the approaching storm, and the night would 
doubtless, at the time for his return, be exceedingly dark, 
even if the winds and waves were not unfavorable. But 
Ray persisted. “ Next month,” he said, “ Mr. Carleton 
will be ofi* on his vacation, and I wish to get along as far 
as possible in my studies before he goes. If it should 
storm hard when I am through with my recitation, I can 


92 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


remain with him until the tempest is over. I’ll take 
along the big sail cloth, to cover the grain ; and as long 
as I get around in time for the morning chores, it will 
make no great difference.” 

As Mr. Woodhull made no further objection to his 
going, Raj cast off the fastenings of the boat, and, with 
the wind directly across its beam, started for the town. 
He arrived there about dark, but had time to go up to 
the store before the meeting, and order the grain he 
wished to be delivered at the wharf by half-past eight. 
He also did a number of other errands ; and, with his 
arms full of bundles, entered the lecture room of the 
First Church just as the service began. 

Many recalled afterward the prayer the lad offered 
that evening, not so much for the ideas expressed in it as 
for the deep fervor and consciousness of the Master’s 
presence that it exhibited. “How that boy grows in 
grace ! ” was the thought of more than one there that 
night. 

When the meeting closed, it was already thundering 
heavily, and the clouds looked as though it might rain 
at any moment. Ray therefore said to his pastor : 

“ Mr. Carleton, I am afraid it will rain before I get 
through with my recitation, and, as I have some grain 
down at the boat, I will first go and see that it is properly 
covered, and put these bundles on board; then I will 
come round to the parsonage.” 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


93 


A half hour later, he rang the parsonage bell, and 
when shown to the study he seemed greatly stirred up 
about something, and Mr. Carleton noticed also that he 
had on an old ragged coat, in the place of the one he 
wore when he had left the church. Ray saw his pastor’s 
glance at the coat, and immediately said, apologetically: 

“ When I got down to the wharf, Mr. Carleton, I found 
the bags of grain had been dumped out on the dock, 
and, taking off my coat, I laid it on a pile of lumber 
near by, while I stowed them away in the boat and cov- 
ered them over with a sail cloth. When I had finished, 
and went to get my coat, I couldn’t find it ; either I have 
overlooked it in the darkness, or else some one stole it 
while I was at work. I happened to have this old one 
on the boat, and so put it on to wear up here.” 

After talking awhile on the singularity of the circum- 
stance, they turned their attention to the lessons before 
them. When Ray had completed his recitation it was 
raining hard, and at Mr. Carleton’s suggestion he waited 
for it to hold up. Toward midnight, as there seemed to 
be no cessation of the storm, he told Mr. Carleton he 
would not keep him up any longer, and arose to go. 

“ You had better remain right here to-night,” Mr. 
Carleton said, “ and go home early in the morning.” 

“No,” replied Ray; “I’ll go down to my boat and 
crawl into the cuddy, and as soon as the storm slackens 
I’ll drop down the bay.” 


94 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


He even refused the umbrella Mr. Carleton offered 
him, and darted off* through the rain and darkness. 
Both of them, however, soon had reason to wish he had 
remained there quietly until morning. 

When Kay reached the boat, he first examined the 
grain, to see that it was fully protected from the storm ; 
then he crawled into the little cabin 0/ the boat and lay 
down. It was not his intention to go to sleep, but it was 
late and he was tired, and soon a drowsiness crept over 
him, and in spite of every effort on his part to throw it 
off", he succumbed to it. He must have slept long and 
soundly, for it was broad daylight when he awoke. Pro- 
voked at himself for going to sleep at all, he crawled out 
of the cuddy, and began to make preparations for drop- 
ping down the bay. He thought, however, of his missing 
coat, and took a few minutes to look over the lumber for 
it, but without finding a trace of it. He now threw off 
the hindward fastening to his boat, and then stepped along 
to the bow to undo the fastening there, when he was 
attracted by a crowd up at the corner of Main and Bank 
Streets, and ran up there to see what the trouble was. 
He now learned of the burglary, and it was while he 
stood there that the bit of cloth was found clinging to the 
opening in the partition. Kay, with others, looked at it, 
then he turned abruptly, and hurrying from the store 
went down to the boat, cast off his painter, and started 
for Long Point Farm. 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


95 


He did not arrive there until Mr. WoodhuU had com- 
pleted the morning chores, and that gentleman at once 
noticed that he seemed to be troubled and perplexed 
about something ; but when he told of the loss of his coat, 
and that he had overslept himself, Mr. Woodhull thought 
these things fully accounted for his singular behavior. 
He felt sure of it when Ray said : “ I never before had 
to have you do my work for me, and I shall take care 
that such a thing does not happen again.” 

“ Oh,” said Mr. Woodhull, laughingly, “ I am extremely 
glad you have failed to be on time once ; you are usually 
so punctual it is refreshing to find that you, like the rest 
of us, are sometimes obliged to yield to circumstances.” 
And then the matter dropped. 

All the forenoon Ray, while he kept busily at work, 
seemed to be unusually thoughtful and pre-occupied. It 
was not until they were at dinner that he spoke of the 
robbery, and then he only briefly explained that he had 
been attracted by the crowd around the store before he 
left the village, and going up to the building he had 
learned of the event. He answered all of the questions 
that were asked him concerning the affair frankly enough* 
but Mr. Woodhull thought, once or twice, he seemed 
about to speak of some additional circumstance, and then 
checked himself. 

In the afternoon, however, he seemed like his old self, 
and after supper he romped and played with the children 


96 


THE BLACK FOKGE MILLS. 


until bedtime. He then got his Bible and other helps, 
and sat down with the rest of the family, as he always 
did, to study the Sunday-school lesson for the next day. 
They were busily engaged over the lesson when a wagon 
drove hurriedly into the yard, and a moment later a loud 
knock was heard at the door. 

All noticed that Ray suddenly grew pale and became 
strangely agitated as Mr. Woodhull went to the door. 
Whoever was there, he spoke to Mr. Woodhull in a low 
tone, who then went out, closing the door after him. He 
was gone a long time, and when he came in he looked 
exceedingly grave. Crossing the room to Ray’s side, he 
laid his hand affectionately upon the boy’s head, saying : 

“ My son, whatever trouble has come to you, remember 
I do not distrust you one moment, and all that I can do 
for you shall be done. I have no doubt of your inno- 
cence; but the officers are here to arrest you for last 
night’s burglary.” 

Ray made no answer ; but, bowing his head on his 
hands, burst into tears. 

“ What is it, husband ? ” “ What is it, George ? ” the 

wife and her mother exclaimed in turn. “ Ray arrested 
for robbery ! Shame on those who even think him guilty 
of such a thing!” cried Mrs. Woodhull, indignantly. 

Mr. Woodhull nodded his head, though too much over- 
come by his own feelings to speak ; and then he waited 
for Ray to recover from his paroxysm of tears. After a 


the black fokge mills. 


97 


while the lad ceased to weep, and, raising his head, looked 
up searchingly into Mr. Woodhull’s face. 

His employer looked lo\dngly and kindly down into 
his tear-stained countenance, and said, gently : 

“ Before I let the officers in, tell me, my boy, just what 
you may care to have me know about it. Again I repeat 
I believe in your innocency.” 

“Mr. Woodhull,” said Kay, earnestly and calmly 
now, “ I am innocent. I know no more than you do who 
broke into that store. Circumstances are all against me, 
however, and I do not see that I can establish my inno- 
cence. I have puzzled over it all day, and it looks darker 
and darker to me all the time. There is my life before I 
became a Christian : that is against me. Then I was at 
the village last night. I was there early this morning. 
I have no one to substantiate my statement that I was 
sound asleep in my boat from midnight until morning, 
at the very dock where the robbers must have carried off 
their goods. It certainly looks as if I must have been 
allied with them. More than all this, I lost my coat last 
night, in a manner strangely unaccountable to me and to 
any one else ; and do you know ” — his voice lowering 
almost to a whisper — “while I was in the store this 
morning, one of the men found on the edge of the open- 
ing in the partition, a piece of cloth that had evidently 
been torn from the clothing of one of the robbers as 

he crawled through, and it was exactly like the mate- 
G 


98 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


rial of my missing coat. I can’t account for it ; but I 
knew it at once, and all day I have felt sure that I should 
be arrested for this crime. I don’t care for myself. I am 
innocent, and my Saviour knows it, and I am content. 
But there will be so many who will believe I am guilty, 
that I am afraid the cause of Christ will suffer irreparable 
harm. But you all believe in me, and there are others 
who will ; and God can even overrule this for my good 
and his glory. Tell the officers I will get ready at once 
to go with them.” 

“ I tried,” said Mr. Woodhull, “ to have them leave you 
here until Monday, telling them I would be responsible 
for you, but they refuse to do so. I will, however, come 
up early Monday morning and arrange bail for you, and 
secure the best counsel I can obtain. Keep up a brave 
heart, Ray.” 

“Yes, sir; I shall cry no more,” answered he. And 
then he went to his room to prepare for his departure. 

Mr. Woodhull now called the officers in until Ray 
could be ready. They were as courteous as could be 
expected in the discharge of their duty, and though 
extremely reticent, they finally admitted that Ray’s coat 
had been found, and with it the implements which had 
been used to gain an entrance to the store. 

“Is it likely,” asked Mr. Woodhull, indignantly, “that 
that boy, if guilty, was fool enough to put his coat and 
tools right where they would be readily found ? Or that 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


99 


he would have stayed there until this morning as if 
inviting an arrest? Any one can see the absurdity of 
this.” 

The officer shrugged his shoulders. “We don’t pretend 
to say he was alone,” he answered ; “ nor do I attempt to 
account for any freak on the part of criminals. I have 
learned that you never can tell what to expect ; perhaps 
all this was a movement of his to make himself appear 
innocent — who knows ? They say he is very long-headed, 
and has for months made some of the First Church people 
think he was a saint, when he was a sinner.” And the 
officer chuckled over his own poor wit. 

“You wouldn’t speak so of him, if you knew him as 
we do,” broke in Mrs. Woodhull, warmly. 

“ I hope you may be right,” replied the officer, “ but I 
must do my duty, nevertheless.” His countenance, how- 
ever, said only too plainly, “ I have worked up this case, 
and I know that boy is guilty.” 

Kay now appeared, carefully dressed for his journey. 
“ I presume there is no objection to my taking this book 
with me,” he said, as he showed the officer his Bible. 

“No,” was the curt answer; but the manner of the 
officer indicated that his thought was: “You can’t pull 
any wool over my eyes by your pious tricks.” 

Bidding each member of the family an affectionate 
good-bye, and kissing the sleeping children, Ray followed 
the officers to their wagon. 


100 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


‘•We shall earnestly pray for you, and early Monday 
you may look for me,” Mr. Woodhull said, as he parted 
with him at the door. 

An hour or two later Kay was locked in a cell at the 
village station house, and when the town clock struck 
twelve, and ushered in the Lord’s Day, he lay on his 
hard pallet, sleeping as peacefully as in his own bed. 
Every anxiety had vanished, every burden had lifted, for 
he had committed his way unto the Lord, and the divine 
voice had answered back: “Fear not; for I am with 
thee.” 

There was peace in his soul — the peace of God “ which 
passeth all understanding.” 


CHAPTER VIII. 


GUILTY, OR NOT GUILTY? 

T here are three astonishing things in this world ; I 
presume there may be many more, but there cer- 
tainly are three. First of all, it is astonishing how fast 
evil tidings will travel. Ray Branford was not arrested 
until Saturday evening, and it was well on toward mid- 
night when he was locked up in the Afton jail; yet by 
far the greater portion of the citizens of that thriving 
town knew of his arrest, and were discussing it, when at 
their Sunday morning breakfast tables. 

Then it is astonishing how ready the average human 
mind is to accept all evil tidings, and especially those that 
are injurious to one’s character, as the unvarnished truth. 
There were probably not a half dozen families in the 
town that morning which had heard of the arrest, whose 
members did not believe the boy to be guilty. Some who 
had been bitterly opposed to the reception of the lad into 
the membership of the First Church, now came forward 
with that old saw, which has been repeated from time 
immemorial, and I presume will be repeated so long as 
human judgment is imperfect, “I told you so.” Then 
others, who had felt that the boy must be received, and 

101 


102 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


yet in heart had regarded him as scarcely worthy of it, 
now shook their heads sagely, and said : “ It has turned 
out about as we expected.^’ While others, who had 
really believed in the boy’s conversion, and had watched 
his progress with pleasure, now sadly remarked : “ How 
we were deceived in him!” Yea, some who had only 
the Friday evening before at the prayer meeting listened 
to that boy’s prayer, and had been so moved by it as to 
comment upon his growth in grace, now suddenly re- 
versed their opinion, asking, “ How could that boy have 
prayed like that, and then have gone right out from that 
prayer room to help rob that store? He must be a 
hardened wretch, after all.” Among them all hardly 
one was found who asked: “Is he guilty?” All un- 
hesitatingly, and that, too, upon the slightest circum- 
stantial evidence, pronounced him guilty of the crime 
for which he had been arrested. I do not attempt to 
account for the fact ; I only know it existed. 

Then another astonishing fact is how slight a circum- 
stance, if it is only sensational, will draw a large congre- 
gation. Some of the First Church people had arisen that 
morning with a determination to stay at home from the 
church services — it was so extremely warm and uncom- 
fortable. But when they learned of the arrest, they re- 
recalled the fact that Mr. Carleton had had an unbounded 
confidence in the imprisoned lad. 

“ I wonder if he will make any allusion to this event 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


103 


in the services to-day ? ” each thought. “ Keally I must 
go and see.” Then there was an unusual hurrying 
around, and, when the bell tolled for the service, out 
from mansion and cottage a vast throng poured into the 
streets, and hurried off toward the First Church. 

Nor was it simply the First Church people that gath- 
ered there that morning. In every church there is a 
part of the congregation that has itching ears. These 
remembered the intimate relation the First Church pas- 
tor had held with the arrested lad; and it happened, 
therefore, that a goodly number from every church in 
the town deserted their usual church homes that morning, 
and ran off to the First Church, just to hear what its 
pastor would have to say respecting this most remarkable 
circumstance. 

So, when Mr. Carleton entered his pulpit, he found 
himself face to face with a congregation that filled the 
large house to its utmost capacity ; nor could he account 
for it, since he, poor man! had not even heard of Ray’s 
arrest. 

The services moved on in their regular order without 
the slightest circumstance to gratify the curiosity of the 
expectant throng until Mr. Carleton announced his text ; 
then each one glanced at his nearest neighbor signifi- 
cantly, and settled himself as comfortably in his seat as 
possible to hear what he felt sure would follow. 

Poor Mr. Carleton saw their glances, and for the life 


104 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


of him could not account for them. Was his necktie 
awry ? Had he forgotten his cuffs ? Or, had he quoted 
his text wrongly ? He glanced quickly at his wrists — 
no ; his cuffs were on. He raised his hand quickly to 
his collar — no ; his tie was in its place. It must be then 
he had misquoted his text. So, louder and more dis- 
tinctly, he repeated it : “I have sinned in that I have 
betrayed innocent blood.” Again those meaning glances 
and the same settling back in the pews with an expectant 
air. This repetition of the text promised well, and the 
dullest ear in that house was now alert. 

Mr. Carleton proceeded with his sermon, but the 
unusual attitude of his congregation had in a measure 
disconcerted him, and he hardly spoke with his accus- 
tomed freedom ; while a tremulousness, of which he was 
absolutely unconscious, was detected in his tones by his 
attentive hearers. 

They all felt sure, then, as he stated Judas’ sin to be 
that of avarice, and went on to show how through his 
slight pilferings from the bag he bore the sin had grown 
upon him until he was even ready to betray his Lord for 
his own gain, that he had in mind the arrested boy, and 
that he, with them, was now ready to pronounce him 
guilty. 

“An able discourse, and so appropriate to the occa- 
sion!” “How delicately, and yet how pointedly, he 
alluded to that boy’s sin I ” and similar comments were 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 105 

heard on all sides, as the vast congregation left the 
house. 

But Mr. Carleton, ignorant of the fact that he had 
been encouraging his people to commit that most despic- 
able of sins, the speaking evil of one another, came down 
from the desk, and, meeting Mr. Bacon, shook hands 
with him, remarking, pleasantly : 

“ We had a large congregation to-day. Brother Bacon.” 

“Yes; and judging by your sermon, pastor, you evi- 
dently know the cause of it.” 

“ My sermon ! The cause of it ! I don’t understand 
you, Brother Bacon ! ” Mr. Carleton exclaimed, in his 
bewilderment. 

“ Why, didn’t you know Ray Branford is now in the 
lock-up, arrested for the burglary of Friday night?” 
asked Mr. Bacon, in his turn surprised. 

“ I certainly did not,” his pastor answered. “ I saw he 
was not here, as usual, but had no idea of the cause. 
Unwittingly, then, I have given my people the impres- 
sion that I believe he is guilty.” 

“ The most of them came here abeady believing Him 
guilty, I fear,” replied Mr. Bacon ; “ and of course your 
sermon would seem to them to indicate that you held the 
same opinion.” 

“ What do you think ? ” asked Mr. Carleton, quickly. 

“ That I will not condemn the boy untried and uncon- 
victed,” gravely answered Mr. Bacon. 


106 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


Mr. Carleton shook hands with him again warmly, and 
then he said : 

“ Immediately after dinner I will go over to the lock- 
up to see the boy. He must sadly stand in need of 
friends now. Will you go with me, Brother Bacon ? ” 

“Yes. Stop as you pass the house, and III be ready,” 
was the hearty reply. 

One other there was who had not heard of Ray’s 
arrest. It was his teacher. Miss Squire. Detained at 
home from the morning preaching service by her 
mother’s sudden illness, she came hastily into the Sun- 
day-school, ignorant of the whole sad affair. Looking 
around on her boys, and noticing Ray’s absence from 
the class for the first time since the memorable Sunday 
more than a year ago, when he had first become a 
scholar, she asked, innocently: 

“ Do any of you know why Ray is not here to-day ? 
Was he at church ? ” 

The boys looked curiously at each other, and then one 
of them answered: 

• “ Ho, ma’am ; I rather guess he wasn’t ; for he’s in the 
lockup, arrested for robbing Shephard’s store Friday 
night.” 

Miss Squire did not answer a word, but looked steadily 
at her boys for a few minutes, as though she would read 
their souls ; then, with a sigh, she took up the lesson for 
the day. But as soon as the school closed she went di- 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 107 

rectly to her pastor, and, with tears in her eyes, she 
asked : 

“ You have heard about poor Ray ? ” 

“ Yes,” he briefly replied, and looked sadly down into 
her upturned face*. Then suddenly, as if reading there 
something he longed to see, he added : 

“ But you at least do not regard him as guilty, neither 
does Mr. Bacon ; and we shall go down to see him di- 
rectly after dinner.” 

“Would it be out of place for me to take father with 
me and visit him also ? ” she asked. 

“ No ; to my mind it would be a Christ-like thing to 
do,” he gladly replied. “ I was in prison, and ye visited 
me,” he added, softly. She nodded, too overcome to reply 
in words, and then hastened home to prepare for her visit. 

It had been a long morning to Ray. There was no 
window in his cell, and the feeble light that reached him 
came struggling in through a window at the farther end 
of the corridor. He could not see well enough to read 
his Bible, but he heard the church bells, when they rang 
for service ; and as he thought of the sermon he could 
not hear, and the school he could not attend, he deter- 
mined to have a service of his own. He first sang, in a 
low tone, the hymn, “ Nearer, my God, to thee ” ; then 
he repeated all the promises he could recall from God’s 
word. After that he repeated every verse of Scripture 
that he knew with either the word “ faith,” or “ grace,” 


108 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


or “ peace ” in it. He was glad now that he had made a 
daily habit of learning at least one verse from the sacred 
word, and he was surprised at the number of verses he 
could recall. Finally, he knelt by his iron bedstead and 
offered up his prayer unto God. This service greatly 
cheered and comforted him ; for Christ himself drew near 
and spoke, in the words he had recalled, directly to his 
heart. 

While eating his scanty dinner, he wondered if Mr. 
Carleton or Miss Squire had heard of his arrest, and if 
they would visit him in his prison cell. He was confi- 
dent they and some others of the First Church people 
would believe he was innocent of the crime with which 
he was charged ; but he was not prepared for the throng 
of visitors who soon began to pour in upon him. 

His first caller was Mr. Jacob Woodhull. He had 
come up to the preaching service and Sunday-school as 
usual, but was well back on his way home before he 
learned from an acquaintance, who overtook him, of 
Bay’s imprisonment. He immediately turned around 
and retraced his steps to the village, and before the boy 
was through eating was shown to the door of the cell. 

He listened attentively to Kay’s account of the sad 
affair, and then questioned him closely as to the loss of 
his coat and his sleeping on board the sloop. The old 
gentleman, though odd, was, nevertheless, keen and 
shrewd, and he soon said : 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


109 


“ There are but two points to clear up, and your inno- 
cence is established beyond question. I have an idea 
this will not be so bard as it now seems. Anyway, we 
will do all we can. I will be on band to-morrow morn- 
ing when you are examined ; and just trust God, Kay I 
just trust him ! ” 

He left the station house and went directly to the 
telegraph office, and was fortunate enough to find the 
operator still in. “ It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath 
day,” be said to himself, and then sent two messages to a 
neighboring city — one was directed to a lawyer of well- 
known legal reputation, the other to the most expert 
detective on the city’s police force — and both read the 
same: “Come here on first train to-morrow.” His 
interest in Kay was again manifesting itself in a most 
practical form. 

He had scarcely left the jail when Mr. Carleton and 
Mr. Bacon were announced. They shook hands with 
Kay through the iron grating of his cell, and their hearty 
expression of faith in him brought hope and gladness to 
his heart. After talking long and earnestly with him 
concerning th^ circumstances of his arrest, they, too, 
bade him be* of good cheer, and then departed^Mr. 
Carleton going to the chief of police to see if he could 
not secure more comfortable quarters for the boy, while 
Mr. Bacon, in utter ignorance of what Jacob Woodhull 
had done, went after the telegraph operator to send 


110 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


messages to the very same lawyer and detective to whom 
that gentleman’s message had already gone. He learned 
from the operator that these messages had been sent, but 
believing it would give additional emphasis to the coming 
of those gentlemen, he had his own messages forwarded 
also. 

Mr. Carleton met with a very cold reception from the 
chief of police, who plainly told the minister he was 
meddling with what did not concern him, and that 
young Branford should stay where he was, even if 
all Afton should beg for his release. Indignant at his 
treatment, Mr. Carleton started for home ; but before he 
turned off from the main street, he saw Dr. Gasque 
driving toward him. He stopped the doctor, and found 
that he, having been out of the village all night attending 
a very sick patient, had not even heard of the arrest. 
Quickly explaining the circumstances under which it 
had occurred, Mr. Carleton told of his visit to the chief 
of police, and the manner of his reception. Dr. Gasque 
expressed his indignation in no gentle terms, and then 
added : I have a patient to attend to first, then I will 
go around to the station house and see what can be done 
for Kay. I promise you he shall have more comfortable 
quarters for the night.” As Dr. Gasque was president 
of the town board of officers, and held in his hands the 
power to even dismiss the chief of police, Mr. Carleton 
knew the promise was not vainly made. 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


Ill 


Meantime, other callers had come and gone at that 
cell door. This time it was Miss Squire and her father. 
She had gone home from Sunday-school scarcely knowing 
how she could persuade her father to accompany her to 
the jail ; for he was at times crusty and irascible, and 
her mother s sudden illness had put him out of sorts 
with himself and everybody else. He cared, moreover, 
little or nothing for religious matters, and no appeal to 
him from the Christian side would have the slightest 
weight with him. But she remembered that a striking 
characteristic of his was* to radically oppose whatever 
others approved. Because others maintained the earth 
was round, he stoutly persisted it was flat ; because others 
said the national colors were red, white, and blue, he 
declared all were color blind but himself, for they were 
red, white, and green. She hoped, therefore, by showing 
him that the majority of the First Church people believed 
Ray was guilty, he would strenuously maintain he was 
innocent ; and if he only once assumed this position, no 
stone would be left unturned by him to secure the boy’s 
acquittal if it could honorably be done. 

As though it was a mere matter of news she alluded 
to Ray’s arrest, and the sudden change in the attitude of 
many who had called themselves his friends. Before she 
was half done her father brought his fist down upon a 
small stand near him with a force that overturned it, 
demolishing a rare vase that stood upon it. “ Look here, 


112 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


Ettie/’ he cried, “ that boy is innocent ; any fool can see 
that. King the bell for dinner, and tell James to have 
the carriage at the door the moment we are done, or I’ll 
discharge him. I am going right down to the station 
house to let the lad know he has one friend in Burton 
Squire, even if all others forsake him. Did you say that 
Carleton believed in his innocence, and Bacon, too ; well, 
they are the only sensible men in the whole town. I’ll 
go to hear Carieton preach next Sunday if I have to be 
carried into the church. And, see here, Ettie ; you get 
ready to go with me ; it’s a pity if that boy’s teacher can- 
not show him what she thinks of him. You’ll find an 
old heathen like myself knows enough to visit a man 
when he’s in prison, and feed him, and clothe him, too, if 
it’s necessary.” 

So, soon after Mr. Carleton had left the ofiice of the 
chief of police, that worthy ofiicial saw to his dismay the 
carriage of the rich and influential Burton Squire roll 
up to the station-house door. “ Can it be possible he 
has come to see that boy ? ” he asked of one of his men 
who stood near him. 

“I guess so,” the man answered, with a grin; “all 
Afton is against the youngster, so far as I can hear, and 
that is enough to make the general take up for him ; but 
my ! if he takes a notion to have that boy removed from 
that cell, won’t there be music here ? ” And the chief 
thought so a half hour later, when the angry man hob- 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


113 


bled into his presence, and demanded that the boy be 
put in a better room at once, or he would know the 
reason why. General Squire’s haughty and commanding 
tones aroused the anger of the officer, and he flatly 
refused his request. So fully was the chief’s attention 
taken up with the tirade of abuse that the general now 
poured down upon him, that he did not notice that 
another carriage had driven to the jail door, and that a 
gentleman getting out of it had come hastily into the 
room. 

“ General Squire,” the new-comer said, “ there is no 
need of such language as this. Captain Gardiner, release 
that boy from that cell at once, and send an officer with 
him up to my house ; he will stop there to-night, of course 
under guard of the officer. Tq-morrow you will account 
to our board for your want of courtesy to Mr. Carleton, 
and to the general. We have felt for some time that a 
change in our police force was necessary.” 

The speaker was Dr. Gasque, and it is needless to add 
that his request was immediately complied with. 

Mr. Carleton, on his arrival home, learned that a lady 
was waiting to see him. He found, on entering the par- 
lor, that it was Betsy Branford, Kay’s sister-in-law. 
First apologizing for her call at that time, she with some 
fear and trembling gave him a revelation that filled him 
with astonishment, and led him to say : “ This is most 

important, and absolutely clears the boy, and I think we 
H 


114 


THE BLACK FOKGE MILLS. 


can manage it, too, without your appearing on the witness 
stand at all ; so have no fear.” Then, at the close of the 
evening service, he had still another caller, a boy who 
brought with him a large bundle. When he departed 
he left the bundle behind, and Mr. Carle’ton hastened 
in, and said to his wife, whp had already retired: 
“Well, Mary, one of the darkest facts against Ray, 
that of the missing coat, is all clear. Now let us find a 
way to clear up the other — his sleeping on his boat while 
those men were carrying on their robbery almost above 
his head — and then he is completely exonerated. I am 
not sure but God has sent this arrest to teach the people 
of Afton a lesson they will never forget.” 

At nine o’clock the next morning, Ray was brought 
before the police court for examination. He could not 
feel that he was alone, however, for Mr. George Wood- 
hull, and Mr. Jacob Woodhull, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Carleton, 
Dr. Gasque, General Squire, Deacon Blake, and a half 
dozen more, were gathered around him as friends and 
well-wishers. Beside him, too, as counsel, sat the Hon. 
Benjamin H. Eaton, one of the leading lawyers of the 
State, and the presence of this gentleman so overawed 
the little lawyer who acted as prosecuting attorney, and 
even the police judge himself, that those worthy function- 
aries could scarcely attend properly to their official 
duties. Of course, the court room was crowded with 
interested spectators, but if they had expected the trial 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


115 


to proceed that morning they were disappointed ; for as 
soon as Ray had plead not guilty to the indictment read 
to him, Mr. Eaton arose, and asked that the case be 
postponed until Wednesday morning. 

“ Your honor,” he said, “ I have been in town but a 
half hour, and have had no time to consult with my 
client. Several important facts have already come to 
light, several more are under proper investigation ; by 
Wednesday morning we shall be able to present our case 
in a way entirely creditable to my client. I request, 
therefore, that he be permitted to give bonds for his 
appearance at that time, and the court now adjourn.” 

The request was immediately granted, and bail was 
fixed at one thousand dollars for the prisoner. A half 
dozen gentlemen ofiered themselves as bondsmen, any 
one of whom would have been more than sufficient for 
that amount. Evidently the tide was turning, and sym- 
pathy was setting in in favor of the lad. 

“Come, Ray,” said Mr. George Woodhull, after the 
bond had been completed, “ we’ll now go home ; mother 
and wife and children made me promise to bring you 
home with me.” 

But Mr. Carleton interposed. Drawing Mr. Wood- 
hull one side, he said something to him which caused him 
to give the first hearty laugh he had given since Ray’s 
arrest, and to immediately say : “ Of course, it will be 
best for the boy under those circumstances to stay with 


V 


116 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


you, but the women folks and the children will be woe- 
fully disappointed.” 

“Well, we will compromise the matter,” said Mr. 
Carleton ; “ 111 drive down with him to-morrow and take 
dinner with you.” And Mr. Woodhull, accepting the 
offer, drove away home. 

Mr. Carleton, with Kay by his side, left the court room, 
and walked up town. He took care to call at a number 
of the stores on the way, and by his words and his acts 
to show all he met that he regarded Kay as in every way 
worthy of his attention and respect. As he and the lad 
turned on to Prospect Avenue, Mrs. Grundy passed 
them in her carriage, and looking them coldly in the 
face refused to acknowledge Mr. Carleton’s stately bow. 
“ I will let even my pastor know that I in no way 
approve of his association with criminals,” she said, 
“ and at the next church meeting we will ask for letters 
to the Central Church.” 

But before the week was out she changed her mind ; 
yes, even she, the fashionable Mrs. Grundy, was glad to 
call on her pastor and apologize for that morning^s dis- 
courtesy, and nothing more was ever heard about her 
changing her church relations. 


CHAPTER IX. 


ray’s trial and acquittal. 

W EDNESDAY morning opened dark and lowering, 
but notwithstanding this, so great was the interest 
taken in Ray Branford’s trial, that the large hall where 
the judge had decided to hold court was filled to over- 
flowing. Ray sat just within the bar with Mr. Eaton, 
his counsel, and quite a company of other friends. All 
the gentlemen who had been with him on Monday morn- 
ing were there, and with them now were the following 
ladies: Mrs. George Woodhull, Mrs. Berray, Mrs. Carle- 
ton, Mrs. Bacon, Mrs. Gasque, and Miss Squire. Nearly 
one-half of that vast audience also was made up of 
ladies, from the very first families of Alton. Rumor 
had been busy all the day before with certain mysterious 
suggestions that new and startling developments might 
be expected at the trial, and this had been suflScient to 
bring them out in full force. 

The judge sat behind his desk, dignified and thought- 
ful, as so important a case demanded, while the little 
prosecuting attorney was more at his ease than on the 
previous Monday, for there was associated with him now 

another lawyer of considerably wider legal reputation. 

117 


118 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


At precisely nine o’clock the case of the State vs. Kay 
Branford was called, and the clerk read again the indict- 
ment against the lad, and announced the fact that to this 
charge the prisoner had pleaded “ Not Guilty.” 

The little attorney then arose, and in a piping voice 
and with a pompous air proceeded to state what the 
prosecution hoped to prove, and closed by calling Mr. 
Shephard, the j)roprietor of the robbed store, to the wit- 
ness stand. 

He being duly sworn, testified that he had first dis- 
covered the burglary on opening his store about six 
o’clock the Saturday morning before, and that he had at 
once sent for Captain Gardiner, the chief of the town 
police, who took the matter in charge. He then de- 
scribed the way in which entrance to the store had been 
effected, and the kind and amount of goods that had 
been stolen. He gave a detailed account also of the 
search he and the police had made for traces of the burg- 
lars ; of their finding tracks at the rear of the store, a 
bit of cloth on the edge of the opening in the partition, 
and later, the coat and tools hidden away under a pile of 
lumber on the dock. He identified the coat on the table 
before him as the one they had found, by the rent in its 
back, of the exact size and shape of the pieces of cloth 
found on the partition, and also by a place on the right 
side where the coat had at some former time been torn 
and mended. He recognized the saw and auger as the 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


119 


tools found with the coat by marks that he had put upon 
them at the time they were found, and by the bits of 
wood of the same kind as that of the partition, which 
were still clinging to them. On his cross-examination he 
declared that he had no bias or ill-feeling against the 
prisoner at the bar, and that he knew of no reason why 
the prisoner should want to injure him. But he as well 
as others had seen the prisoner on Friday evening wear- 
ing the coat that had been found, and this, together with 
the fact that the prisoner was known to be hanging 
around the wharf early the next morning without this 
coat, had led him to have a warrant issued for his arrest. 
If the prisoner were innocent, no one hoped more than 
he that the fact would come out at this trial ; on the 
other hand, if he were guilty, he desired that he and his 
accomplices, if they could be found, might suffer the 
penalty of the law. He simply asked that justice should 
be done. 

Then Captain Gardiner, the chief of the police, took 
the stand. From the outset it was evident to all that he, 
for some reason, held firmly to the belief that Ray was 
guilty, and that he was determined to convict him if that 
were possible. It may be that the severe reprimand he 
had received on Monday afternoon from the town board 
for his discourtesy to Mr. Carleton and General Squire 
the day before had created this feeling; or, possibly, he 
may have felt that his reputation as a skillful and succes- 


120 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


fill officer would be damaged if tbe boy were not con- 
victed. At any rate, with bitter invective against Ray 
and his earlier life, he went on to show that it was his 
own keenness that had discovered the piece of cloth on 
the partition, the tracks at the rear of the store, and the 
coat and tools under the lumber. It was, moreover, his 
own alertness, that had detected Ray on Saturday morn- 
ing with another coat on, and prying around that very 
heap of lumber on the docks. He, too, it was, that had 
noticed that Ray, as soon as he beheld the piece of cloth 
that had been found, had abruptly left the store and 
hurried off down the bay. The finding of the coat, to 
his mind, was the last link necessary to prove that the 
boy must at least have been in league with the other 
culprits. The idea that the boy could have been there 
at the wharf all night without knowing that the burglary 
was going on was to him simply absurd. In his eager- 
ness to convict the lad he even advanced theories respect- 
ing the robbery and the disposal of the stolen goods 
which had no foundation in fact, and which Mr. Eaton 
had the right to object to; but for reasons best known to 
himself he allowed the captain to go on until his story 
was finished. Then by a few well-directed words in the 
cross-examination, Mr. Eaton so disconcerted the self- 
important official, that he became confused and contra- 
dictory in his testimony, and finally retired from the 
stand completely discomfited. 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


121 


Several witnesses were now introduced to show that 
Ray had been in the village the night of the burglary; 
that he wore the coat which had been found under the 
lumber on the wharf, and that he was seen early the next 
morning wearing another coat. Then Mr. George Wood- 
hull was called to the stand. He seemed somewhat 
surprised that the prosecution had called him as a witness, 
but having been put under oath, he readily admitted that 
Ray had not arrived at Long Point Farm on the previous 
Saturday morning until nearly eight o’clock; that he 
came without the coat he had worn away the evening 
before; and that he seemed in an unusual thoughtful 
mood all the rest of the day, as though troubled about 
something. But the first decided sensation of the trial 
came when the coat which had been found was placed 
before him, and he was asked if that, in his judgment, 
was Ray’s coat. 

“ No, sir ! ” he promptly answered, “ I do not think it is.” 

“Why not?” asked the little attorney, sharply. 

“Because,” replied Mr. Woodhull, deliberately, and 
in a voice that penetrated every part of the court room, 
“ Ray’s coat had his name on the back of the collar, and 
this has no name ; then, this coat has some time been torn 
on the right side and neatly mended, while Ray’s coat, 
when he left the farm on Friday night, had no such mark 
upon it.” 

This testimony made a pronounced impression upon 


122 


THE BLACK FORGE ’MILLS. 


the whole audience, for it gave the first hint that had yet 
been received as to the line of the defense. Up to that 
moment it had generally been believed that no attempt 
would be made to show that the coat found was not Ray’s ; 
in fact, it was generally supposed that this could not be 
denied, and that the best the defense could do would be 
to prove that the boy had lost it previous to the robbery. 
When, now, Mr. Woodhull so emphatically denied the 
identity of the coat, the people in the audience looked at 
each other in amazement, and the witnesses who had 
sworn so positively just a few moments before that Ray 
had worn this identical coat now looked as if it had just 
dawned upon them that there might be two coats of the 
very same material. 

The lawyer associated with the little attorney in the 
prosecution also seemed to realize that the strongest link 
in the chain of circumstantial evidence which had been 
woven ai'ound the prisoner was in danger of being broken, 
for he turned abruptly to the witness, saying : “ That will 
do, sir.” 

Mr. Eaton sprang to his feet. “Wait a moment, sir,” 
he said to Mr. Woodhull. “I believe you are a witness 
for the prosecution, and as such I have my right of cross- 
examination.” As no one could deny this right, he pro^ 
ceeded : 

“You have stated, sir, that the boy, from his arrival 
home on Saturday, until his arrest in the evening, seemed 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


123 


troubled about sometbing. Do you know any reason, 
apart from participating in this burglary, why he should 
have seemed so?” 

“I object to that question,” cried the little attorney, 
struggling to his feet. 

“Your honor,” said Mr. Eaton, “the prosecution has 
taken care to show us that this lad was not himself on 
his return home; that for some unknown reason he 
seemed troubled and agitated. Of course, their inference 
is that he was guilty of the crime he now stands charged 
with, and that this accounts for the strangeness in his 
appearance and demeanor. I only wish to show that 
there was sufficient reason for this behavior without any 
such supposition as that of his guilt.” 

“ The objection is not sustained,” said the judge ; and 
Mr. Woodhull gave his answer : 

“ I believe there was a threefold reason why the boy 
should have been troubled. First of all, he was cha- 
grined that I was obliged to do his work that morning, 
a thing that had never happened before since he came 
to Long Point Farm ; again, he was troubled because he 
had lost his coat in a way wholly unaccountable to him- 
self or any one else ; and, finally, he had recognized the 
piece of cloth in Captain Gardiner’s hand as extremely 
like the material of which his lost coat was made. And 
as his name was on his coat, he thought it more than 
probable, if it were found about the wharf where he 


124 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


had last seen it, it might lead to his arrest. And even 
if he were innocent, he had no desire to be arrested for 
the crime, and have half of the town of Afton believe 
him guilty. I don’t wonder the boy was troubled. I 
should have been in his case.” 

“ One more question, sir. You have employed the lad 
for some time ; what has been his character since he has 
been with you ? ” 

“ Unexceptionable ; I do not know how any one could 
have done better. Several times he has been trusted 
with sums of money twice the amount of this theft, and 
under circumstances when he could, had he so chosen, 
have run away with it beyond hope of recovery ; but 
there has never been any indication or act on his part 
that has led me for a moment to distrust him,” replied 
Mr. Woodhull, warmly and emphatically. 

The prosecution now rested its case, and the defense 
began. The first witness called was Ray himself. He 
promptly took the oath, and then, in clear and distinct 
tones, told his story. He admitted that he wore on 
Friday evening a coat of the same material as the one 
presented there in the coui't room ; “ but,” said he, “ I 
can readily convince you all that this is not the coat. As 
Mr. Woodhull has said, my coat had my name on it, and 
was not mended on the right side, as this is. Again, it 
does not fit me, as you see.” And with a quick movement, 
he raised the coat from the table, and slipped it on over 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


125 


the one he was already wearing. Then, turning so that 
all could see how it hung in folds about him, and holding 
up his hands, over which the coat sleeves fell, completely 
hiding them, he asked, with a smile : “ Did I look like 
that when I entered the prayer room Friday evening, or 
even when I came into your store, Mr. Shephard ? ” 
The effect of this object lesson was irresistible, and a 
hearty laugh was heard all over the room. 

He now, with the whole audience suddenly brought 
into sympathy with him, went on with his story. He 
told how he had lost his coat, and was obliged to go up 
to Mr. Carletori’s with the old ragged one on that he was 
seen wearing the next morning. He spoke in detail of 
his coming down to his boat about midnight, and of his 
falling asleep in his cuddy. “ How I slept through the 
night without hearing anything of the burglars, I can 
only explain,” he said, “ by stating that I was very tired, 
and by the fact that they probably made as little noise 
as possible. It was after six o’clock when I awoke, and 
I did look around the pile of lumber, as Captain Gar- 
diner has testified, but I was looking for my lost coat. 
I also went up to the store when I heard the commotion, 
and was there when the piece of cloth so like the material 
of my coat was found. I admit I was frightened, for I 
thought the robbers had perhaps found my coat and used 
it as a blind. This was what troubled me ; but I did 
not dread the arrest so much for myself, for I knew I 


126 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


was innocent.” Then, with some hesitation, “ I did dread 
it, however, because I knew a great many in Afton did 
not believe I was a Christian, and would at once say I 
was a hypocrite, and thus I should be made to dishonor 
Christ, or, at least, would 'become a stumbling block in 
the way of some who might otherwise accept him, and I 
couldn’t bear that.” And the boy burst into tears. Nor 
were his the only wet eyes in that audience just then. 

Amid an impressive silence, and without a question 
from the prosecution, he was allowed to leave the stand, 
and Mr. Carleton took his place. His testimony was 
brief, and simply corroborated ^ay’s, so far as it related 
to his coming to the parsonage on Friday night with the 
old ragged coat on, and his leaving the parsonage just 
before midnight. Then a young lad named Will Adams, 
and as mischievous a scamp as there was in town, was 
sworn, and with a rather sheepish look on his face, he 
gave in his testimony : 

“ You see, last Friday night about half-past eight, I 
was down on the wharf behind a pile of lumber smoking. 
I was ashamed to be seen with my cigar, and that’s the 
reason I went off down there. While I was smoking 
away, Eay Branford there came down to the dock, and 
taking off his coat, laid it on a pile of lumber while he 
stowed some bags of grain into his boat. I don’t know 
what possessed me, — just the fun of the thing, I guess, 
— but when he got down into his boat to cover the grain 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 127 

with a piece of canvas, I just reached up and took his 
coat, and then ran noiselessly up into the lane way back 
of Shephard's store. I just enjoyed Ray’s poking round 
in the darkness after that coat, for whenever it lightened 
I could catch a glimpse of him, and when he went off in 
that old ragged one up to Mr. Carleton’s, I laughed right 
out aloud. 

“ I intended to put the coat back on the lumber, or 
into the boat, but it began to sprinkle some then, and I 
was afraid it would get wet, so I went up to Shephard’s 
store to wait until Ray came back, and then I was going 
to give it to him. Mr. Shephard will remember I was 
there with that coat under my arm, for he spoke to me 
himself just before he closed up. Well, when the store 
was closed Ray hadn’t come, and ’twas raining so hard, 
I buttoned the coat under my jacket and scud for home. 
I hung the coat up in my clothes press, thinking I’d give 
it to Ray the next time he came up to town. I forgot 
^11 about it until Sunday morning at the breakfast table, 
when I heard father saying Ray^s coat had been found, 
and he was in the lockup for stealing. I thought first 
I’d tell them I had Ray’s coat up stairs, but when he and 
ma were so sure Ray was guilty, and called him such 
hard names, I rather enjoyed the situation, and said 
nothing. Up at church and Sunday-school I heard all 
the people talking the same way, and thinking I’d pro- 
duce a sensation in the court Monday morning I kept 


128 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


what I knew to myself. But when Mr. Carleton on 
Sunday evening told the people his morning sermon had 
no reference to Ray, for he then didn’t even know he 
was arrested, and that he had been down to the jail to 
see him that afternoon, I concluded to tell him what I 
knew. So I went home after the service, got the coat, 
and took it up to the parsonage and gave it to Mr. Carle- 
ton. Here it is now.” And taking a bundle from Mr. 
Carleton’s hands, he opened it, and held up a coat before 
the eyes of all. You see, here is Ray’s name, just as 
he said, and here is his handkerchief in the pocket with 
his name on it. There, Ray,” he continued, throwing 
the coat into its owner’s arms, “ had I known what 
trouble I was going to make you, I’d never have taken it 
at all.” And without waiting to see whether the lawyers 
desired to question him or not, he marched down from 
the witness stand, and sat down upon the nearest bench 
with the air of one who knew he had created the great- 
est sensation of the trial. 

Mr. Shephard was recalled to the stand, and readily 
admitted that he had seen the Adams boy in his store 
Friday night with a coat under his arm. My mistake,” 
he said, in a manner that indicated his great sorrow, 
“ has been that I did not stop to think there might be 
two coats of the same material. I am really sorry I 
caused the prisoner’s arrest ; this will be a lesson to me 
always.” And when dismissed from the witness box, he 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


129 


went around to Ray’s seat, and shook hands with him, 
saying in a tone audible to half the audience at least, 
“ My lad, forgive my hasty judgment.” 

“We have one other witness, your honor,” said Mr. 
Eaton, and called William S. Simmons. A man from 
the extreme back part of the hall worked his way down 
to the witness stand. He was wet, and covered with 
mud, and had the appearance of one who had come far 
and fast. He being sworn, stated : 

“ My name is William S. Simmons. I am by profession 
a detective, and am connected with the city force in 

P , I was called here Monday morning to investigate 

this robbery by the defense. An unusual circumstance, 
I assure you. But Mr. Shephard afforded me ev^ery 
opportunity to examine his premises, and I soon became 
satisfied that the theory of my worthy friend, the chief 
of your police here, could not be sustained. The piece 
of cloth found on the edge of the opening had been to 
my mind attached there when the burglar crawled out 
of, and not in through that hole. Then, too, but one 
track went from the rear of the building down to the 
wharf, and that returned again, as if the robber had 
gone down to the pile of lumber simply to hide the coat 
he had discovered to be torn, and the tools with it. 
Possibly he may have intended to sink them off the 
dock, but was interrupted or alarmed in some way, and 

so hastily placed them under the lumber, intending to 
I 


130 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


remove them later. No goods were carried away by 
boat, but they were put through the hole in the partition 
into the empty store. Then the front door of that store 
was opened, and the goods were carried away by wagon, 
while the door was fastened to its place, and the tracks 
made at the rear of the store for a blind. It is no 
wonder that this lad slept on all night without knowing 
of the robbery, for only one of the burglars came any- 
where near him, and he only for a brief moment.” 

“ How do you know your theory is any more correct 
than Captain Gardiner’s ? ” asked the little attorney, with 
a sneer, in the cross-examination. 

“Well,” replied the detective, quietly, “my main 
reason for believing I am correct, is that for two days I 
have been following the real burglars, and about nine 
o’clock to-day I bagged them, and the stolen goods, over 
beyond Holly Mountain. By hard riding I got them 
into the lockup fifteen minutes ago, and then came over 
here.” 

“ We rest the case here, your honor,” said Mr. Eaton. 

The two lawyers on the prosecution consulted briefly 
with each other, and then the little attorney announced : 
“ In the light of the facts presented by the defense, we 
submit the case without argument.” 

Mr. Eaton rose to his feet. “ I desire, your honor, to 
briefly sum up the facts we have presented, in the interest 
of my client. He is a poor lad, whose reputation and 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


131 


character are his only possessions. For three days he 
has been branded as a thief ; for three days nearly this 
whole town has been ready to pronounce him guilty, un- 
tried and uncondemned ; yea, when, as it now so over- 
whelmingly appears, he was entirely innocent of the crime 
with which he has been charged. In justice to him I ask 
that I may briefly sum up the case.” 

“We shall be glad to have the counsel do this, your 
honor,” said the little attorney, bowing courteously toward 
Mr. Eaton. 

“The court consents,” the judge replied, smiling 
blandly. 

With a bow of gracious acknowledgment to his brother 
attorney, and to the court, Mr. Eaton began a speech, 
which for eloquence and pathos had never been equaled 
in the town of Afton. With that rare felicity of lan- 
guage which had already rendered him famous, he began 
with Ray’s humble attempt to make something of himself. 
He sketched rapidly the boy’s progress until he had 
reached a position of trust with his employer, and had 
gained the confidence of many more. He described the 
boy as he left Long Point Farm on that Friday night 
for Afton. All grew hushed. Even the heaving breath 
of the vast audience was still, as he told of the scene in 
the prayer room, when the lad had talked with God. 
Then, with sudden transition, he pictured the boy’s arrest, 
and his Sunday in the lockup, while all Afton gave him 


132 


THE BLACK FOKGE MILLS. 


no word of cheer, no look of sympathy, no thought of his 
innocence. In scathing language he showed their want 
of charity for the lad, their willingness to misjudge his 
noblest efforts and purest motives, their eagerness to con- 
demn him unheard. 

Never had the citizens of Afton received such a stinging 
rebuke ; and, what was more, there were but very few in 
that vast audience who did not feel it was deserved. None 
turned from the speaker, lest they should find the eyes of 
the others fixed in condemnation upon them. Not one 
thought of judging others, for a still, small voice within 
was saying, “ Thou art the man.” When Mr. Eaton had 
ended, the judge himself wiped the tears from his eyes, 
and said, huskily : “ The prisoner is discharged for lack 
of evidence to sustain the indictment.” Then he hurried 
down to the bar, and shook hands warmly with the ac- 
quitted boy. Others crowded around, either assuring 
Ray they never really thought he was guilty, or else 
confessing their error and asking his forgiveness. In the 
midst of all this confusion General Squire called out : 
“ The judge, lawyers, witnesses, and friends of Mr. Bran- 
ford are all invited to my house to dinner. Carriages 
are now at the door ; please hasten out to them.” And 
in spite of protests and excuses, they were all carried off 
to the Squire mansion, where they found an elaborate 
dinner awaiting them. 

But in the midst of all this ovation, a feeling of sorrow 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


133 


would now and then come to Kay’s heart, overshadowing, 
in a measure, his happiness ; for even then he was aware of 
what all Afton soon knew, that the burglars at the lockup 
were his own brothers. He had recognized the coat as soon 
as he had seen it in the court room as belonging to one 
of his brothers; and when the detective announced their 
capture, he had felt, notwithstanding his own triumphant 
acquittal, that his heart would sink in very shame. This 
was the revelation Betsy Branford had made when she 
called on Mr. Carleton ; but, to shield her, the detective 
had been put upon the stand, and through his skillful 
capture of the real offenders, he was able to give in his 
testimony as though it emanated from himself alone. 

The next Friday evening, as Kay sat in Mr. Carleton’s 
study, he suddenly asked : 

Mr. Carleton, why do you suppose God allowed my 
arrest to take place? What object could he have had in 
it ? And what is the lesson I am to learn ? ” 

Mr. Carleton smiled. “I am quite sure,” he said, 
“ we may not know all of God’s purpose, but some of it 
we may know. How about your relation to the Saviour?” 

Kay answered, quickly: “He sustained me in the 
greatest trial of my life, and I never loved him or felt 
his nearness as I do now.” 

“ How about the people of Afton ? ” asked Mr. Carle- 
ton. 

“Well,” said Kay, a little mischievously, “I guess, 


134 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS 


after listening to Mr. Eaton, they have learned the lesson 
that ‘ love worketh no ill.’ ” 

“ They certainly ought,” said Mr. Carleton ; “ and yet 
I do not think that either of the things you have sug- 
gested constitute God’s chief purpose in this trial.” Then, 
as though it had nothing to do with the subject, he asked : 
“ What kind of weather had we been having, Ray, pre- 
vious to the thunder storm of a week ago ? ” 

“ Why,” said Ray, in surprise, “ it had been for a week 
cloudy and misty, and nasty and sticky — regular dog- 
day weather.” 

“What cleared it away?” inquired Mr. Carleton. 
“The thunder shower,” answered the boy. “It was 
a terrific one ; but when it was over, the sky was clear, 
the sun shone out, the air was purified, and everything 
seemed to be wonderfully refreshed.” 

“ Exactly,” continued Mr. Carleton ; “ and it illustrates, 
I believe, what God in this great trial of yours has done 
for you. Clouds of memory had hung over you from the 
hour of your conversion — the memory of your past life, 
of your evil companions, of your old associations. There 
were many who could not forget them nor overlook them. 
Then God sent this great trial of your life. It was bitter 
while it lasted. It aroused the animosity of some; it 
turned aside for a time the friendship of others, and 
seemed at one time as though it would overwhelm you. 
But now that it is over, those clouds of memory have dis- 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


135 


persed : there is clear sky above your head. I doubt if 
in your social relations to the people of Affcon, or your 
Christian relations to the members of the First Church, 
you will ever again hear any allusion to your old life, or 
ever again have your Christian faith spoken lightly of.’* 
And he never did. 


CHAPTER X. 


FRUIT AT THE MILLS. 

6 4 TTTELL, then, Ray, good-bye until Monday. W e 
T V shall see you then?” Mr. George Woodhull 
said, as the boy stepped into a boat at the Long Point 
Farm wharf, and took up the oars. 

“ Yes ; if nothing happens, you may look for me Mon- 
day night after school,” Ray replied, dipping the oars 
into the water, and pulling slowly away toward Afton. 

i^our months have passed since the events recorded in 
the last chapter, and Thanksgiving is just at hand. 
Those months have been marked by faithful toil on the 
part of Ray. Immediately after his trial he had taken 
up his work again at Long Point Farm, and had gone 
steadily on also with his studies. When September 
came, and the fall term of school began, he went to the 
principal of the Afton Graded School, and was examined 
for entrance to the senior class. The examination was 
so successful that when Mr. Greenough, the principal, 
found the boy could not enter the school before the win- 
ter term, he himself proposed that he should come up to 
the village once each week for recitation, and under his 
own immediate supervision keep on with his class. Ray 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 137 

had gladly accepted the offer, and, while he neglected no 
farm duty, he had through all the fall carried on his 
studies so assiduously that the week previous to the open- 
ing of this chapter he had passed an examination which 
warranted Mr. Greenough’s remark a day or two after 
to Mr. Carleton : “ If my other boys don’t look out, that 
young Branford will take their laurels away from them. 
His indomitable will has carried him successfully through 
what few boys would have dared to undertake.” 

Kay’s eight months with Mr. Woodhull were now com- 
pleted, but he had arranged with his employer to live 
with him during the winter months, doing chores and 
working on Saturdays for his board, and going morn- 
ing and night to and from school. This undertaking 
would have at the very outset disheartened a less coura- 
geous lad ; still it was not so hard a task as it at first 
sight appeared. It was not over three miles across the 
bay to Afton, and in good weather, until winter closed 
it up, Kay could go over to the village by boat. 
When once the bay was frozen over, he could skate 
across ; and at the times when he could not do either of 
these Mr. Woodhull had promised him a horse, and Mr. 
Carleton had an extra stall in the parsonage barn where 
the horse could be kept during school hours. Nor would 
the gallop of seven miles through the wintry air be other- 
wise than beneficial to the general health of the lad. 

So this new arrangement was to go into effect on the 


138 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


following Monday, when the winter term of school began. 
Meantime, Kay decided to spend a few days with his old 
friends at the Black Forge Mills. He had made a few 
brief visits there during the months he had been away, 
but this was to be his first extended stay. He had found 
that, notwithstanding his new associations and arduous 
cares, there was still in his heart a deep interest for his 
old friends at the Forge. He had a deep yearning in 
his soul that many of his old associates might come to 
Jesus. For them and his immediate home friends he 
had prayed constantly ; but of late he had felt that the 
gulf between him and them was daily widening. 

“ I must see them occasionally, and let them see that 
I neither forget them nor lose my interest in them, if I 
am to do them good,” he thought. And for this reason 
he had planned this visit to his old home. He little 
knew how great the spiritual results of that visit were to 
be. 

It was early morning when he bade Mr. Woodhull 
good-bye at Long Point Farm wharf. The day was 
crisp and cold, but pleasant, and he rowed briskly, as he 
got out on to the bosom of the bay, to keep himself warm. 
The waves were not high, and under his vigorous strokes 
the light boat shot rapidly forward. Instead of running 
into the dock at Afton, he pulled along the shore to the 
mouth of the stream on which the Black Forge Mills 
were situated. It was high water, and he was able to 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


139 


row up within a few rods of his father’s door. Pulling 
the boat well up on the bank, and fastening it securely 
to an adjacent tree, he walked on to the house. 

He opened the door without knocking, and entered. 
Betsy was busy at the stove, and turned hastily to see 
who had come. She gave a glad ciy when she saw him. 

“ Oh, Ray ! is it you ? And you have come to spend 
Thanksgiving with us, haven’t you?” she eagerly asked. 

“Yes,” he answered; “are you glad I’ve come?” 

“ I guess we are ; I mean all of us. Do you know, 
George and the girls have seemed so different lately. 
They go to the mission chapel with me quite often now, 
and I hope soon, the girls, at least, will go with me up 
to the church. Only yesterday we were talking about 
you, and they all said they hoped you would come home 
for Thanksgiving. I told them you would. They asked 
me how I knew, and I told them I had asked the Lord 
to bring you, and I knew you would come. They laughed 
and said if you came they would believe God answered 
prayer, and now they’ll have to ; I’m so glad.” 

Ray smiled : “ I thought you had been praying for me 
to come, and as to-night is the night for the prayer 
meeting at the chapel, we’ll try to get them all out. 
With whom do you leave the children?” * 

“Some one of us has to stay with them. If you can 
get all the others to go. I’ll stay at home ; but if father 
won’t go, and I hardly think he will, then he’ll look out 


140 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


for the children for me. He has done it once or twice 
lately. He hasn’t been drinking near so much since the 
boys were arrested.” 

Ray now sat down by the fire, talking busily with 
Betsy, as she went on with her work, or chatting with 
the children as they played about the floor. Almost 
before he realized it was noon, the whistle of the mills 
blew, and a few moments later his father and brother 
George and the three sisters came in. He was surprised 
at the cordiality they all manifested, and when they 
learned he had come to be with them over Thanksgiving, 
they all looked over at Betsy and laughed. 

“ I have told Ray,” she said, “ and he says you must 
all go with him to the chapel to-night.” 

“You will, won’t you?” Ray asked, looking around 
upon all. 

Not a single one gave a direct answer, and yet none 
of them refused to go. The father gave a sniff, but said 
nothing. George laughed a little, and said: “We might 
have expected that would be the first thing we’d hear. 
Betsy and he’ll never rest till we are all Christians.” 

“Never,” said Ray, earnestly. 

The oldest sister looked over at Ray, a deep yearning 
manifest in her eyes, and, with some show of emotion, 
remarked : “ It’s a very little favor for his coming home.” 

The younger sisters laughed, and replied in concert: 
“If you’ll be our beau, perhaps we will go.” 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


141 


When the hour came for the service, however, all hut 
the father got ready to accompany Kay. No, I shan’t 
go,” he said gruffly to Betsy’s inquiring as to his going ; 
“but you may. I’ll take care of the children.” 

It was but a short distance to the chapel, and on their 
arrival they found quite a number already gathered. 
Others kept coming, and soon the room was quite full. 
It had been the custom for Mr. Carleton, or some brother 
from the home church, to come down to the Forge and 
take charge of this Wednesday evening service. But 
the hour arrived for the meeting, and passed, and no one 
came. There had evidently been some misunderstanding 
about the leader, or else he had been unexpectedly 
detained. Fifteen minutes after the usual hour, Mr. 
Jacob Woodhull, who was present, came fiom his 
seat, to where Kay was sitting. He talked a few 
minutes with him, and then Kay arose and went quietly 
forward to the desk. He began the service, and pro- 
ceeded along in the usual order without the slightest 
hesitation or embarrassment. His Scripture lesson was 
the tenth chapter of Komans, and his brief remarks 
were based upon the very first verse: “Brethren, my 
heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they 
might be saved.” He spoke first of Paul’s great anxiety 
for his own countrymen — that they might be saved. 
“ He desired it. It was the longing of his heart. The 
desire because a prayer. He could contain himself no 


142 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


longer. The burden had become too great. He now 
cried unto God. He did more. Wherever he went we 
find he first preached that gospel to his imbelieving 
brethren. He saw to it that they heard the message of 
salvation, and had the opportunity to accept it if they 
would” 

“ Making an application of this truth to myself,” he said, 
“ I, as a Christian, ought to desire and pray for the salvation 
of all of you here at the Forge whom I have been accus- 
tomed to associate with; and I do and have. K you 
only knew how great my anxiety is, how earnestly I 
have asked God for this very thing, I do believe some of 
you would come.” 

As he went on, an earnestness took possession of him 
which held the fixed attention of that people who knew 
him so well. 

It was a plain, simple talk, but it had a marked effect 
upon his hearers. From the human side, the very fact 
that Ray was one of their number led them to listen to 
him with unusual interest. There was not a single one 
in that audience who did not know Ray’s past life, and 
not a single one that for a moment doubted the change in 
him ; and when he told, in his quiet, earnest way, what 
had wrought the change, they gave him their respectful 
attention. From the divine side, God was working in and 
through that boy. He spake as “moved of the Holy 
Ghost.” The Spirit taking the circumstances, the place, 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


143 


the hearers, and the instrument under his control, moved 
on with a quiet but irresistible power to the accomplish- 
ment of his work. And when, at the close of a half hour 
of testimony and prayer. Bay asked : “ Isn’t there some 
one here to-night who wants Jesus for his Saviour ? ” the 
fruit of the Spirit began to appear. 

From one of the forward seats a great, burly, rough 
man slowly arose, and electrified those present by the 
emphatic declaration : “ I’m tired of sin. I want to be- 
lieve in my mother’s God.” He was known as “ Sailor 
Jack,” and his history was a strange one. At the age 
of seventeen he had run away from a Christian home, and 
had shipped on board a South Sea whaler. Forty years 
passed away. The Christian father had gone to his re- 
ward. The Christian mother still lived ; and, at the ripe 
age of ninety-four, she awaited her summons home. “ I 
shall not go,” she said, again and again, “until Jack 
comes home. I shall see him once again ere I die, and 
he will meet me in heaven. God has heard my prayers, 
and I have the assurance of the answer in God’s own 
time.” Finally there came a sickness to the old saint, 
that the friends gathered about her knew was unto death ; 
but her faith faltered not at all. One evening, as she sat 
bolstered up in bed, she suddenly seemed to be listening, 
and then exclaimed : “ There is J ack’s step. He is at the 
door. I knew I should see him before I went home.” 
Those about her thought she wandered in mind ; but to 


144 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


comfort her, they went and opened the outer door. A 
large, burly man who stood hesitatingly upon the steps 
now entered, saying : “ They tell me mother is still alive. 
May I see her ? Jack had come. 

The mother never knew, in this world, the story of that 
son’s wanderings, or the desperate wickedness of his life. 
She lived only long enough to assure herself that it was 
her own son Jack, to speak to him of God’s promise, and 
her expectation of meeting him beyond ; and then she 
went on to the heavenly mansion prepared for her. But 
others soon heard that wayward son’s story, and had proof 
of his evil life and heart. He had sailed on nearly every 
sea; he had been guilty of nearly every crime. Three 
months before he had been in the diamond fields of South 
Africa, and one day had the good fortune to find a 
number of gems, of a size and quality that at once lifted 
him from the most abject poverty to comparative wealth. 
That night, as he lay in his rude tent, his thoughts, for 
the first time in years, wandered back to the home of his 
boyhood. As he told of it in after years, a voice seemed 
to suddenly say unto him, “ Go home ! Go home ! ” The 
next morning he left for the nearest seaport, took the first 
ship that sailed for England, and from there sailed for 
his native land, arriving home in time to see his mother 
die. 

Since her death he had gone on in his bold, wicked 
life, utterly regardless of man or God. Even among the 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 145 

hard characters at Black Forge he was regarded as a 
hopeless case. When now he arose in that little meeting, 
and declared he wanted to believe in his mother’s God, 
there was a hushed stillness not unlike that when the 
Spirit brooded over the darkness and void at the begin- 
ning, and out of which he was soon to call forth light and 
life. This stillness was broken by Jacob Woodhull drop- 
ping suddenly down upon his knees, and with deep emo- 
tion asking the Saviour to hear and answer this penitent 
man’s request. They had been playmates together — he 
and this wicked man ; they had sat on the same bench at 
school. Mr. Woodhull knew of the mother’s faith and 
the mother’s prayers for this son. He asked that the 
hour when that mother’s prayers were to be answered 
might be at hand, and that the mother’s mantle might 
now fall upon the son, making him a living witness of 
Christ’s power to save even the vilest sinner that would 
come unto him. A number of others, at the close of this 
prayer, arose and declared their determination to go unto 
Jesus, who alone had “ the words of eternal life,” and 
among the number was Ray’s oldest sister. 

The next morning Ray and this sister attended the 
Thanksgiving service at the First Church, and as they 
started for home at the close of the meeting, Mr. Carleton 
joined them, and walked a ways with them. 

“I owe you an apology, Ray,” he said, “for throwing 
the meeting last night on your hands. By some strange 


146 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


inadvertence I forgot that I had not provided a leader 
for it, but it was well. God knew where the one to 
lead that service was, and I have already learned of the 
wonderful power he there displayed. This is the sister, 
I believe, who desired to find Christ. May I ask if she 
is at peace 

“Yes, sir,” she timidly replied. “Ray talked and 
prayed with me after the service, and I do feel that I 
have given myself to Jesus, and that he has accepted 
me.” 

“ I am very glad to hear it,” Mr. Carleton responded, 
“ and I shall be glad to help you in any way that I can, 
to a fuller understanding of what it is to follow him.” 
Then to Ray: “How about Sailor Jack?” 

“ He is completely in the dark,” Ray answered. “ I 
was over to see him early this morning, and found that 
Mr. Woodhull had been with him all night, but no light 
or peace had yet come. His great trouble seems to be 
that he has already sinned away his day of grace. I 
wish you might see him; possibly you could help 
him.” 

“I will try and see him soon,” answered his pastor; 
“ but how about your taking the four o’clock preaching 
service on Sunday at the Forge? It would be a great 
relief to me if you would do it, and you seem to have a 
strong hold upon that people.” 

For a moment Ray seemed on the point of refusing; 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


147 


then he asked, softly: “Do you think Jesus would like 
to have me do it, Mr. Carleton?’^ 

“I think he is always pleased to have us do the work 
that lies at our hand for him, and which we can do ; nay, 
more : I think he requires it of us,” said the minister. 

“ I will do the best I can, sir,” replied Ray, humbly. 

It was a full house that Ray was called to face Sunday 
afternoon, for it had become generally known that he 
was to conduct the service. Even Mr. Branford, Ray’s 
father, had slipped in through the door at the last moment 
and taken a rear seat, as if almost ashamed to be seen in 
the Lord’s house. Ray conducted the service in a way 
very similar to that he had followed the Wednesday 
evening before, only he now talked a little longer, and 
this time it was from the words: “Jesus Christ, the same 
yesterday, to-day, and forever.” 

It was a helpful, comforting, all-powerful Saviour 
whom he presented to those listening ears, and not one 
went away without feeling, that to that young Christian 
heart, at least, he was all he had pictured him. At the 
close of the service a number of those who had risen on 
Wednesday, stayed behind to tell of a new-found hope ; 
but though Sailor Jack tarried with the rest, he, to every 
question asked him, only answered : “ I am shut up in a 
darkness that is blacker than night. Not a ray of light 
comes to me, I can only feel I am fast sinking in 
despair.” 


148 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


Why not hold another service to-night, Ray?” asked 
Mr. Woodhull. “It seems to me the interest manifested 
warrants it.” 

“Very well,” replied Ray. And notice was at once 
sent out among the people announcing the fact, while he 
went up to the parsonage to apprise Mr. Carleton of the 
liberty he had taken. 

“I am sure you have done wisely, Ray,” his pastor 
heartily replied. “Very few of the Forge people come 
up to our service, anyway, and I think myself this work 
ought to be followed up for a while. Will you give 
notice that services will be held there every night this 
week, and that you, on next Sunday afternoon, will lead 
the services again? I know your arrangements for the 
week will not permit you to be there, but I will go down, 
and take some of our church people with me.” 

The evening service was not unlike the afternoon one. 
Ray spoke from the words: “Whosoever, therefore, 
shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before 
my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall 
deny me before men, him will I also deny before my 
Father which is in heaven.” 

Sailor Jack sat in the front seat, and never took his 
eyes from Ray while he was speaking. As soon as he 
had finished, the man jumped to his feet, and turning 
around so as to face the audience, exclaimed : 

“I see it all now. All my life I have been denying 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


149 


Jesus, and of course he has been denying me; and he 
isn’t going to confess me till I first confess him. So 
here, now, before you all who know just how wicked I 
have been, I declare that Christ is the Son of God ; that 
he came into this world to save sinners of whom I am 
chief. But even I am not beyond the reach of his power. 
For he has promised, ‘him that cometh unto me I will 
in no wise cast out.’ ” And he sat down with his face 
fairly reflecting the peace which had come into his soul. 

Ray had hoped that his brother George, and his other 
sisters might, on this evening, manifest a desire to be 
reconciled unto God through Christ. Betsy and his 
older sister and he had all prayed for them, but none of 
them arose with those who asked the prayers of Chris- 
tians. While rejoicing, therefore, that others were com- 
ing, Ray felt he still had much to keep him humble and 
prayerful; he could not be satisfied until all of his own 
home friends had found Jesus. 

He was somewhat elated, an hour or so later, to have 
his brother George come up to his room, for he thought 
it must be that he had come for spiritual help. When 
he had closed the door, however, George said in a whisper : 

“ I came up here, Ray, to talk with you about Tom 
and Dick ; you know, after their examination, they were 
taken over to the county jail to wait their trial before 
the higher court.” 

“ Yes,” replied Ray, sadly ; “ I was over to see them 


150 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


once, but they would hardly speak with me. What of 
them ? Their trial comes off next week.’’ 

“ No, it don’t ; for they escaped from the jail Thanks- 
giving night, and got on to an outward-bound ship for 
South America before the officers could overhaul them,” 
explained George. “ I heard of it only this afternoon, 
and haven’t told any of the others yet.” 

“I am sorry,” said Ray, thoughtfully; “for I had 
hoped their term in prison might be helpful to them. I 
am afraid now they will make bad, wicked men. How 
thankful you ought to be, George, that you didn’t go 
along with them that night ! ” 

“ Yes,” admitted George ; “ it was the thought of Betsy 
that led me to refuse. I tell you, Ray, she is a Chris- 
tian wife, if there ever was one. I have tormented her 
awfully, and she has borne it just as patiently as any one 
could. Never a bitter word out from her. But I’m 
through with that, and drinking, too.” And he whistled 
softly. 

“ Why not, George, come clear over to the Lord’s side? 
Do you know, Betsy and I have prayed that you 
might ? ” 

“Yes,” replied George; “I have known it a good 
while, and, Ray, I do want to come. I wish I had been 
as brave as Sailor Jack to-night. Won’t you pray for 
me?” 

With a glad heart Ray knelt there and prayed for 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


151 


that brother. Nor did he forget the father and sisters, 
and the two wayward ones off on the great sea at that 
hour, fugitives from man’s justice, but unable to escape 
the justice of God. When they arose, George shook 
hands with him convulsively, and then hastened to his 
own room. 

“ Slowly they are coming, Lord, to thee,” Ray mur- 
mured, as he got into bed. “ Give me the faith to pray 
and labor for all until they too call thee Lord.” 

The next morning, Ray had a little talk with Betsy 
before he hastened off to school. He found George had 
told her of his desire, and the two had a little prayer 
meeting in that kitchen for him, and the other members 
of the household still unsaved. Was it strange they 
arose with the conviction that their prayers would be 
answered ? Not in the light of those words of the Mas- 
ter : “ Again I say unto you. That if two of you shall 
agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, 
it shall be done for them of my Father which is in 
heaven.” 

The answer came speedily, too, for a portion of the 
household, since before the week was out George and 
the two sisters came boldly out on the Lord’s side ; then the 
brothers and sisters joined their prayers for the salvation 
of the father, and the two wanderers in a foreign land. 

The prayers were heard. The cry of faith always is. 
But God’s time had not yet come. 


CHAPTER XI. 


RAY IN HIS SCHOOL LIFE. 


WAY up at the extreme end of the Parade, and 



commanding an extensive view of the town and 
bay, stood the Afton Graded School building. Four 
stories high, solid, square, substantial was the structure, 
and through its spacious doors passed daily five or six 
hundred pupils. Eight departments occupied its pleasant 
rooms, ranging from primary up to senior, the latter de- 
partment being a grade higher than the grammar, and 
yet hardly advanced enough to be called academic. The 
scholars ranged from the five-year-old beginners to youths 
of sixteen or seventeen, aud were of both sexes. 

Mr. Greenough, the principal, was a kind-hearted, just 
man, a good disciplinarian, and an excellent teacher. 
For some years now he had been in charge of the school, 
aud under his management it had reached a degree of 
success never experienced before. Admission to the 
school, especially in the higher departments, had been 
eagerly sought for by scholars who lived far beyond the 
limits of the corporation ; and the town authorities, under 
certain restrictions and for an ample tuition, had con- 
sented that a limited number of outsiders should be 


THE BLACK FORGE 


153 


admitted. It was under this provision that Ray Bran- 
ford had the September before entered the school. 

But as soon as Mr. Greenough learned that the lad’s 
residence at Long Point Farm was but a temporary one, 
and that his legal home was still that of his father at 
Black Forge, he had decided that he was within the cor- 
poration limits, and was therefore entitled to free tuition 
at the school, and to all of its privileges. In this opinion 
the school board of the town had concurred ; and so, with 
that understanding among all the interested parties, his 
name had been put on the regular roU of the corporation 
scholars. 

The room occupied by the senior department was on 
the second floor of the building, and on the south side. 
The next lower grade, the grammar, occupied the same 
room also, and the two departments came directly under 
the care of Mr. Greenough and his two assistants. 
Consequently, in this room alone, there were nearly 
one hundred pupils, whose ages ran from twelve to 
seventeen. 

Into this room on the Monday morning after Thanks- 
giving Ray came for the first time as a scholar. There 
was a novelty to him in his surroundings, and for a time 
he felt that every pair of eyes in the room was turned 
curiously upon him. He could not appear at ease, and 
evinced an awkwardness quite contrary to his usual, calm 
self-possession. He also found it difiicult at first to study 


154 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


among so many, and it was well for Mm tliat the lessons 
for the day had been already thoroughly prepared. 

In his own immediate class he found some strangers, 
but the greater part were already old acquaintances ; for 
it happened that Edward Lawton, the son of the presi- 
dent of the Forge Mills, John Bacon, the son of the 
superintendent, and all the other lads of Miss Squire’s 
Sunday-school class were in the senior grade at the public 
school. For the most part, too, they gave Ray a cordial 
welcome — in fact, the only exception was Edward Law- 
ton. He had never been quite reconciled to Ray’s posi- 
tion in the class at the Bible school, and he now mani- 
fested a similar resentment at Ray’s entrance to the 
senior grade. This resentment, for reasons which will 
soon appear, steadily increased, and became open dislike 
before the term closed. 

Doubtless the first cause of his resentment had been 
simply Ray’s humble position. He knew his own father 
was rich, and held a position of influence not only in the 
town, but throughout the State. This had led him to 
assume aristocratic airs toward Ray. He continually 
spoke of him as “ one of my father s mill hands,” or. as 
“that fellow from the Forge,” as though honest toil could 
belittle the man or his soul. After Ray’s triumphant 
acquittal, he had seemed to accept the inevitable, and 
treated him with an air of sufferance, if not of courtesy. 
Possibly this would haye continued to have been his atti- 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


155 


tude toward him in the school, had not a circumstance 
occurred soon after the opening of the term which 
brought Ray unconsciously into what Lawton called “ a 
direct antagonism with himself,” and thus the old feeling 
of resentment was not only re-aroused, but was intensified. 

At the close of school one day, Mr. Greenough detained 
the scholars for a few minutes to make, what he called, 
an important announcement. 

“ It is generally known to 1 he scholars of the town,” 
he said, “ that at the end of the year the school board 
presents a silver medal to the scholar graduating with 
the highest rank. But it may not be as generally under- 
stood that this medal can be won only by a scholar be- 
longing within the corporation limits, and even then it 
must be a scholar whose name has been on the school 
register for the entire school year. In other words, what- 
ever rank an outside scholar may hold, or whatever the 
rank one may attain who has entered during the school 
year, the fact that one is without the corporation, and 
that the other has not been on the school roll for the 
whole year, will debar each from receiving this honor. 

“But the school board, finding that so many have 
entered the school this term under one or the other of 
these restrictions, has decided to give them an opportu- 
nity to win at least one distinction, and has requested me 
to announce that a set of Shakespeare’s works, bound in 
morocco and valued at ten dollars, will be given to that 


156 


THE BLACK FOKGE MILLS. 


scholar of the senior class, without regard to the time he 
entered the school, or the place where he may reside, who, 
in the judgment of the examining committee, shall show 
the most marked improvement in his studies, the highest 
average scholarship, and the most perfect deportment. 
There is but one exception to this competition : the scholar 
on the corporation roll, who wins the silver medal, can- 
not also receive the second prize ; that must go to the 
one who ranks next to him, if it should be found that he, 
in the judgment of the committee, would otherwise have 
been entitled to it. *Here is now a chance for distinction 
open alike to all, and I trust that there will be such an 
incentive to all to try for it that a higher excellence will 
be manifest in our studies, and thus the wisdom of the 
board in offering the prize be completely vindicated.’^ 

After the school was out, John Bacon said to Edward 
Lawton : “ Hey, Ned, it’s lucky for you that Branford is 
an outsider, isn’t it ? ” 

“ What do you mean ? ” asked his companion, loftily. 

“ Because you might lose the silver medal that you are 
after,” responded John. 

“ Bosh ! You don’t suppose that mill hand can win a 
prize, do you ? ” asked Lawton, with a sneer. 

“ His chances are good, you can bet ! ” exclaimed John 
Bacon, more forcibly than politely. “ I only wish mine 
were as good.” 

“ Nonsense ! ” exclaimed Edward, angrily. “ You, like 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


157 


every one else, seem to think Ray Branford is a prodigy. 
I tell you, he isn’t half as smart as you think.” 

“ Time will tell,” remarked Bacon, dryly. “ You know 
as well as I do that he entered the senior grade last Sep- 
tember, and that at the end of the term he passed an ex- 
amination that gave him a place next to you, and a 
dreadful small per cent, below you. And I have heard 
that Mr. Greenough said that had Branford been in the 
class room during the term he would easily have won the 
first place. Now he is in the class room, and my opinion 
is that, if he keeps on the whole term in his recitations 
as he has in the past week, nothing but the fact that he 
is an outsider will prevent him from taking the honors 
right away from Mr. Edward Lawton ; and that’s what 
the trouble is — hey, Ned ? ” 

“ I tell you he can’t, and I don’t fear him that much.” 
And he snapped his fingers contemptuously; then he 
turned the corner of the street leading to his home, and 
hurried away from his tantalizing companion. 

He was more annoyed, however, than he cared to 
show. All the week he had been forced to recognize the 
fact that Ray had ranked as high in his studies as he, 
and the fact irritated him. Up to Ray’s coming he had 
easily led his class, and had already begun to look upon 
the graduating medal as his own. But he knew now, 
even if he were not prepared to acknowledge it, that if he 
continued to hold the first place in the class he must 


158 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


work for it as he never had before ; and he resented the 
fact that it was one whom he so thoroughly disliked that 
forced him into such a situation. He still believed that 
the silver medal was his ; but if Kay should win the set 
of books, and show a higher scholarship than himself, 
there would be little satisfaction in receiving the gradu- 
ation honor. It would be well known that Ray’s place 
of residence alone had prevented him from taking it. 

He entered the house in a sullen and discontented 
mood, which was at once aggravated by overhearing his 
sister Daisy’s remark to their mother. She was a year 
or two younger than he, but being in the grammar de- 
partment was in the same room with him, and had, 
of course, heard Mr. Greenough’s announcement. 

“Yes,” she was saying, “and a good many think 
Edward will have to study very hard to prevent Ray 
from getting the medal.” 

“ He can’t get it ; he’s an outsider,” snapped out the 
discontented boy. 

“No, he isn’t! ” said Daisy; “though he works for Mr. 
Woodhull, his real home is at his father’s, of course, and 
he was admitted to the school without tuition or restric- 
tion. Sadye Greenough told me so.” 

“ Well, he didn’t enter until this term,” said Edward, 
desperately. 

“ Why, Eddie, you know as well as I do, he was ad- 
mitted in September, and recited every week of last term 


THE BLACK FOBGE MILLS. 159 

to Mr. Greenough. He also passed his examination at 
the end of the term, ranking next to you,” said Daisy, 
with some show of indignation. “ I surely want you to 
get the medal, but I don’t think it is right to make out 
that things are different from what you know they really 
are. You ought, with hard work, to easily keep your 
lead, and I told Sadye Greenough so. But I do think it 
is remarkable how fast Ray has gained the position he 
occupies, and mamma thinks so too, don’t you, mamma?” 

“ He certainly has shown rare perseverance, and is to 
be commended for it. I only hope my son will show a 
magnanimity and honorableness as great. He certainly 
is too honorable to want any position, or to win any 
position except by fair and open means. Much as your 
father and I want you to graduate at the head of the 
class, we would prefer that you should be at its foot, 
rather than have you exhibit a single dishonorable or 
unmanly trait.” Then the subject was dropped. 

That the lad had been uninfluenced by his mother’s 
words, however, was manifest by his remarking to him- 
self, as he went to his own room : “ I’ll win that medal 
by fair means if I can, but by foul if I must. No 
drunkard’s son shall take an honor away from me.” 

Meanwhile, Ray, utterly unconscious of the resent- 
ment he had roused in Edward Lawton’s breast, and 
with no thought of taking the honors of his class, went 
quietly forward with his studies. On the principle he 


160 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


had adopted months before, to do whatever he had to do 
with all his might, he learned each lesson conscientiously 
and well. He frequently studied until midnight, and 
even then rose early enough in the morning to give his 
lessons a careful review before the time for doing the 
morning chores. He applied himself to his studies so 
assiduously, that Mr. Woodhull grew anxious, lest he 
should impair his health, and one morning as they sat at 
the breakfast table he spoke to the lad about it. Ray 
laughingly replied : “ One good look at me and the 
breakfast I am eating would send that anxiety to the 
four winds; and really, as long as I take the daily ex- 
ercise I now do, I scarcely see how ill-health can get 
the slightest hold,” a remark that his robust frame and 
enormous appetite fully justified. 

Nor did Ray, in his school life, forget for a moment 
that other principle he had adopted — that he would ever 
remember “whose he was and whom he served.” He 
manifested his Christian faith everywhere, not obtrusively 
or in a sanctimonious way, but so as to command the 
respect of all. He found time to be often in the prayer 
room ; he occasionally led the Sunday afternoon service 
at the Forge, with growing unction and power ; and he 
exhibited such a manly Christian spirit and courtesy in 
his school duties and toward his school associates, that he 
fast became a favorite with both teachers and scholars, 
and witnessed among them all silently but powerfully for 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


16 ] 


Christ. The very positiveness of his own Christian 
character and faith influenced many a more timid dis- 
ciple in that schoolroom to a greater boldness and a^ 
more efficient service for the Master. He scorned all 
meanness, he refused to stoop to any dishonorable act, 
he regarded no school rule or duty as of too little con- 
sequence to be strictly obeyed or thoroughly performed. 
He was full of life, ever ready for any harmless sport or 
innocent amusement. No one could call his a gloomy 
Christianity. He made mistakes ; — living men always do ; 
it is only dead men who make no mistakes ; — but he freely 
confessed his wrong when it was pointed out to him, nor 
was he ashamed to ask for forgiveness. So thoroughly 
marked was his spiritual progress, as well as his intel- 
lectual, that Mr. Greenough remarked to his pastor one 
day : 

“ That boy constantly calls to my mind the Scripture 
declaration : ‘ Even for this same purpose have I raised 
thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that 
my name might be declared throughout all the earth.’ 
Just think of what he was, how he was saved, and what 
he now is. If I mistake not, God has some great work 
for him to do. I never saw a more striking illustration 
of divine election, nor did I ever so fully believe in the 
doctrine as I have since I knew him.” 

But during the weeks that Kay had been growing in 

favor with his teachers and the majority of his school- 

T. 


162 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


mates, there was one who steadily refused to like him. 
Edward Lawton at first treated Ray with a cool indiffer- 
ence, while he tried, by hard study, to keep the lead over 
him. Had he studied as conscientiously as Ray, and 
with the same desire to thoroughly master each lesson, he 
might easily have kept the supremacy he already held ; 
for he was naturally a talented and gifted boy. But he 
cared nothing for knowledge in itself, and studied only 
for the honor of leading his class. Even then he might 
have succeeded, had he not formed a habit of passing 
lightly over, or entirely neglecting any point of his les- 
sons that seemed to him insignificant, or likely to pass 
unnoticed. This superficialness soon manifested itself, as 
it always will, and in a moment when it was least expected, 
as it often does. The class was reciting in Latin ; and in 
the passage that Edward Lawton was rendering, an allu- 
sion was made to the “ swift-footed Camilla.” 

“ Who was she ? ” Mr. Greenough asked. 

The lad stammered and hesitated for a while, but 
finally confessed that he did not know. The question 
passed down the class unanswered until it came to Ray, 
who replied : 

“ She was the daughter of King Metabus, of the Vols- 
cian town of Privernum, and was one of the swift-footed 
messengers of Diana, accustomed to the chase and to 
war.” 

A few days later, a similar incident occurred in the 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


163 


geometry class. Edward again stumbled over some ques- 
tion he ought to have known, and Ray without hesitation 
gave the correct answer. Slight as these circumstances 
were, and free as Ray’s heart was from any intentional 
reflection upon Edward’s superficialness, the latter chose 
to so regard his answers, and talked out of school hours 
in no gentle terms of “the Black Forge Mill hand 
who was putting on airs over him.” 

His ill feeling toward Ray was soon apparent, but only 
reacted upon himself. Boys love fair play, and they 
know when one of their number is ill-treated ; and what- 
ever popularity Edward had possessed, gradually waned 
as his attitude toward Ray became known. 

V No one had been quicker to discern his ill-treatment 
of Ray than his own sister Daisy, and espousing Ray’s 
cause, she both at home and at school freely denounced 
what she called “ my brother’s contemptibleness.” Nor 
had Edward’s ill-will for Ray escaped the notice of Mr. 
Greenough. He at once divined the cause, but as there 
had been no serious rupture between the boys, ani as 
Ray’s bearing toward Edward was ever one of uniform 
courtesy, he let the aflair go unnoticed, hoping that some 
circumstance would occur that would show the offended 
boy the unreasonableness of his position, and lead him to 
change his course. 

Affairs were in this condition as the winter term drew 
to a close. The examinations revealed what was gener- 


164 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


ally expected, that Ray by a handsome percentage had 
led the class. When the announcement was made, 
Edward Lawton went sullenly out from the schoolroom, 
muttering to himself : “ I have led one term, and that 

Branford one. If I can now lead the other, the medal 
is mine. Fair means have failed ; I’ll now try the foul.” 
And allowing every good feeling and noble principle to 
drop out of sight, he suffered his secret resentment to 
grow into an open jealousy, and his open dislike into a 
hateful spite. For early the next term the contemptuous 
indifference he had at first manifested toward Ray gave 
place to one of the most persistent systems of petty 
annoyance one lad ever perpetrated upon another. Well 
was it for Ray that he had not only read the divine 
words : “ He that is slow to anger is better than the 
mighty ; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh 
a city,” but had also by God’s grace wrought them into 
his heart, and made them a part of his daily life. 


CHAPTER XIL 


GOOD FOR EVIL. 

T he spring term of the Afton Graded School began the 
last week in March, and as Ray expected early in 
April to begin another season’s work for Mr. Woodhull, 
he did not think it worth while to attend school at all 
that term. But when at the close of the winter term he 
spoke to Mr. Woodhull about it, that gentleman asked: 
“ You still desire to push on in your studies, Ray? ” 

“ Yes, indeed,” responded the lad ; “ but I thought I 
might perhaps arrange to recite to Mr. Greenough once 
a week, as I did last fall, and at the same time keep on 
in my work for you.” 

“ That certainly can be done, if best,” Mr. Woodhull 
answered ; “ but I have talked with Mr. Greenough, and 
Mr. Carleton, and Uncle Jacob about it, ajid they all 
deem it wisest for you to keep in the schoolroom this 
next term if you can.” 

“ Why, of course I can,” replied Ray, hesitatingly ; 
“ but I also wanted to be earning what I could this sum- 
mer, for I would then have enough, with what I have 
saved of my last year’s wages, to enter some good 
academy this next fall.” 


165 


166 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


“ That’s your plan, is it? ” asked Mr. Woodhull, smil- 
ingly ; “ well, we can easily arrange that. Here are two 
weeks of vacation, and I’ll let your work begin now. 
The days are constantly growing longer, and you will be 
able to do more mornings and nights than heretofore. 
Your going up to the village each day will enable you to 
attend to all the marketing, and save me that trouble. 
Suppose now we begin to-day, and I allow you ten dol- 
lars a month until school closes, and your twenty-five 
dollars a month after that until you enter school again. 
How does that suit you ? ” 

“ I think I ought to be satisfied,” replied the grateful 
boy. And he then and there determined that his benefac- 
tor should have no occasion to regret the generous ofler. 

When school began Kay was in his accustomed place, 
much to Edward Lawton’s disgust, for he had secretly 
cherished the hope that his antagonist, as he called him, 
would be obliged to recite privately to Mr. Greenough 
that term. When he found, however, that Ray had 
begun the term with the intention of keeping on to the 
end, his rage knew no bounds, and he resolved upon the 
scheme of petty annoyances already alluded to. An 
opportunity, too, to vent his malice, and at the same 
time to put Kay to great inconvenience, was right at 
hand. 

The weather was still cold, and the ice on the bay was 
hard and firm. Kay, taking advantage of this circum- 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


1G7 


Stance, had come over to the village on his skates. Those 
skates were the pride of his heart, for they were of the 
real Acme all-clamp ” pattern, and had been presented 
to him the Christmas before, by Mr. and Mrs. Woodhull. 
He had found a constant use for them during the winter, 
and had been accustomed to hang them in the coat room 
with his hat and coat, during recitation hours. They 
had never been molested, and with no thought of their 
being injured, he on that morning hung them in the usual 
place. His astonishment and grief may well be imagined, 
then, when at the close of school he took them down, to 
find the clasps broken, and even the runners themselves 
injured. There was no hope of fixing them even ; 
they were broken absolutely beyond repair. Suppressing 
the cry of indignation that came to his lips on discover- 
ing the despicable trick, he put the broken skates under 
his arm, and hurried out of the schoolhouse. But the 
quick eye of Daisy Lawton had noticed his pale and 
excited face, and a glance at the skates as he tucked 
them under his arm told her the cause. She hurried 
from the schoolroom as quickly as he, and then ran 
breathlessly up the street. 

With mingled feelings of indignation and sorrow, Ray 
walked slowly down the street. He was indignant that 
any one had dared to perpetrate so dastardly an act, and 
sorrowful that any one could find it in their heart to do 
him so great a wrong. He tried not to accuse any one, 


168 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


but in spite of himself, the malignant look Edward Law- 
ton had given him early that afternoon would come back 
to him. “ He is the only one I know of in the whole 
school who would feel like doing the cowardly deed,” he 
said to himself, more in pity than in anger; “but no one 
shall learn from me that the outrage was ever committed.” 
Then a peaceful look came over his face. “I can, at 
least, pray for him, and maybe I can in some way show 
him that I am his friend.” 

He hastened to the post office for the mail, and then 
went on to Mr. Shephard’s store on an errand, that 
gentleman and he being now most excellent friends. 
Then he went on down to the wharves. He gave a sigh 
as he stepped on the ice, for he thought of the broken 
skates under his arm. “It’s all the difference between 
twenty minutes and an hour in getting home to-night,” 
he said, and proceeded slowly out from the shore. A 
moment later some one called him, and he turned around 
to find Daisy Lawton standing on the dock. 

“ Come here a minute please, Ray,” she said. 

He retraced his steps, carefully arranging his skates so 
that she would not notice they were broken, and wonder- 
ing how he should explain why he had not put them on. 

His wonderment was immediately dispelled, for she 
took a pair of skates out from under her cloak, and ex- 
tended them toward him, saying : 

“ Here, Ray, take these; I know yours are broken, for 


Black Forge Mills. 










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THE BLACK FOKGE MILLS. 


169 


I saw you in the coat room. I am not sure any more 
than you who did the mean trick, but I fear it was 
Edward.’^ 

As Ray hesitated to take the proffered skates, she 
quickly added : “ These were Brother Herbert’s, who, 
you know, died last year. I have mamma’s permission 
to lend them to you, and they are just like your own.” 

Ray took the skates reluctantly, and put them on. 
Then he said : “ I don’t believe. Miss Daisy, any one but 
you knows that my skates were broken, and we are not 
sure that it was Edward. Let us give him the benefit of 
the doubt, and keep this matter between us. He shall 
know no difference in my treatment of him.” 

Tears came to her eyes, as she answered him : “ I was 
going to ask you to promise that, and you have done it 
without my asking. It was Eddie’s good name I was 
thinking of. Will you let me have your broken skates? 
I will keep them safely, and no one but mamma and 
ourselves wiU know about this, until the real offender 
confesses his act.” 

He handed the skates to her, and with a pleasant 
“good-night” glided rapidly off toward Long Point 
'Farm. 

If Edward Lawton was surprised the next morning 
when Ray entered the school yard with a pair of skates 
in his hand so like the broken ones that he could not 
tell the difference, he was even more surprised to find 


170 


THE BLACK FORGE MILI^. 


that day after day went by without any one’s speaking 
of the dastardly deed. “Kay thinks by keeping quiet 
about the aifair he’ll find out the sooner who did it,” he 
finally thought, “ but I’ll show him he is mistaken.” 

He refrained, however, for some time, from doing 
anything that would call special attention to the perpe- 
trator, and contented himself by creating those little 
annoyances liable to occur in every school. Kay’s books 
were mislaid, his pens and paper mysteriously disap- 
peared, examples were erased from his slate, and a dozen 
other things, equally annoying, happened to hinder him 
in his work. Kay suspected at the outset who was guilty 
of these things, but he manifested no difference from 
first to last in his courtesy toward Edward. Nor could 
these things be entirely concealed from the other mem- 
bers of the class, and they, too, suspected the perpetrator, 
while they all wondered that Kay bore the annoyances 
so patiently, and evinced no desire for retaliation. 

So matters went on for a number of weeks, and then 
another marked evidence of Edward Lawton’s spite 
occurred. Mr. Greenough had, with this term, adopted 
a new custom. On each Friday the senior class reviewed 
the studies of the week. One Friday morning after the 
school had begun, Mr. Greenough called the attention of 
the algebra class to certain examples he had placed upon 
the blackboard, requesting that each member of the 
class perform them, and, copying them neatly on paper, 


THE BLACK FOKGE MILLS. I7l 

hand them in to him when they came up to recite in the 
afternoon. 

“ These examples merely illustrate principles we have 
studied this week, and I shall expect each one of you to 
hand them to me,” he said. “ If you have not performed 
them when the class comes up for recitation, you must 
remain after school until they are completed.” 

Before noon Ray had worked the examples, and 
copying them upon paper, he folded them neatly, and 
laid them in his algebra. In the afternoon when the 
class was called, he found they were no longer in his 
book. He turned over his books hurriedly, but could 
not find them, and then came forward to his class with a 
look of embarrassment upon his face. When Mr. 
Greenough asked for his paper, he said : 

“ I worked the examples this forenoon, Mr. Greenough, 
and placed them in my algebra, but I cannot find them 
now. Possibly I have mislaid them. May I return to 
my desk and see?” 

A look of annoyance passed over Mr. Greenough’s 
face, but he gave the desired consent. Ray returned to 
his seat, looked thoroughly on and within his desk, opened 
every book, and then, with chagrin clearly depicted in 
his countenance, returned to the class. 

“ I cannot find them,” he said ; “ but I certainly per- 
formed them.” 

“ It is strange,” said Mr. Greenough, a little impatiently, 


172 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


looking at Edward Lawton and not at Ray as he spoke, 
it is strange, Ray, that you who are usually so careful 
in everything else should so often mislay, just at the 
moment of recitation, that which is most necessary to the 
success of your work. Possibly your paper may have 
dropped upon the floor, and some scholar has found it. 
If so, I trust he will be honorable enough to hand it to 
me before the close of school. If not, I see no other 
alternative : you must remain after school and perform 
the examples again.” 

“ Yes, sir,” replied Ray. And the recitation was re- 
sumed. 

At the close of the school, Mr. Greenough informed 
Ray it would be necessary for him to remain. Daisy 
Lawton lingered a moment aft3r the other scholars had 
gone, and came over to his side. 

“ This is too bad, Ray ! ” she said. 

“ At almost any other time,” he replied, “ I should not 
have cared about it; but as this is Friday, and Mr. 
Woodhull is away, it is a little annoying that I must 
remain.” 

She did not care to hinder him in his work, and so left 
the schoolroom and went ofi* slowly toward her home. 
As she reached the corner of the street on which she 
lived, her brother Edward was just ahead of her. He 
saw her, and paused a moment, as though he would wait 
until she came up. He changed his mind, however, and 


THE BLACK FORGE MILI^. 


173 


hurried on to the house. As he entered the door he 
pulled his handkerchief from his pocket; something 
white came out with it, and, caught by a current of air, 
it fluttered down to the walk. He went on into the 
house without noticing it, and Daisy, as she reached it, 
stooped down and picked it up. It was Ray’s copy of 
the examples. 

She stood for a moment undecided what to do, then 
she turned and sped back , toward the schoolhouse. 
Reaching it, she entered and hurried up to the senior 
room. Scarcely ten minutes had elapsed since she left, 
and Ray could not have performed a quarter of the ex- 
amples. Hurrying over to his desk, she laid the paper 
before him. 

“ I found it,” she said, simply, and then colored vio- 
lently, fearing she had not told the whole truth. 

He understood her at once, and spared her any further 
confession. They were alone, Mr. Greenough having re- 
quested Ray to leave the examples at his house when he 
went down to the wharf, and had then hurried away to 
meet some engagement. 

“ Please let it remain between us that this paper was 
ever found,” he said, gravely. And strapping up his 
books he accompanied her down to the street. At the 
gate they parted, each carrying away a heavy burden, 
^he grieved that her only brother, whom she had believed, 
until recently, to be noble and manly, should be guilty 


174 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


of deception and theft, for she could give his act no 
lighter term; he, sorrowful that he should so uninten- 
tionally be the cause of another’s sin. But both believed 
in the power of prayer, and from their hearts there went 
up a common cry that God would lead the offending one 
to the only source of permanent reform. 

The weeks passed swiftly by, and the month of June 
came. Two weeks more, and the school year would end. 
Ray, notwithstanding every hindrance thrown in his way 
by Edward Lawton, had steadily advanced in his studies, 
and there was little doubt in the minds of teachers or 
scholars but that he would carry off the honors of the 
class. Ned Lawton himself secretly admitted it, and his 
only hope now was to win the second prize ; but even of 
this he was not entirely sure, since among the outsiders 
there were one or two who ranked nearly if not quite as high 
as he. Then a thing happened which nearly took away 
from Ray even the possibility of graduating, and removed 
the second prize completely beyond the slightest hope of 
Edward Lawton’s securing it. 

Ray, at the close of school, had hurried off to do the 
errands entrusted to him, for huge clouds and a low mut- 
tering of thunder in the west indicated a storm, and he 
was anxious to get well off on his way toward Long 
Point Farm before the tempest came. His errands fin- 
ished, he hastened down to the boat to find, to his sur- 
prise, that it was gone. On inquiring of an old sailor 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 175 

who frequented the wharf if he had seen any one take 
the boat, he, taking his pipe from his mouth, had replied : 

“That white craft that belongs to Woodhull over 
yonder ? I seed Lawton’s boy get into her a half hour 
ago, and go off down the bay.” 

There was then but one thing to do, and Ray immedi- 
ately did it. Leaving his bundles in a neighboring store, 
he started off on his seven miles’ tramp down home. It 
was six o’clock when he reached there, and before he 
began his^ chores he went down to the point to see if he 
could see his boat anywhere down the harbor. Though 
he could not discover the vessel, he noticed one thing 
that rendered him anxious for its safety. Heavy clouds 
were already covering the sky, and there was every indi- 
cation that the storm would soon burst forth. 

A half hour later it suddenly grew dark, the light- 
ning flashed sharply, followed by terrific peals of thunder. 
In the distance could be heard the roar of the wind and 
rain, which were fast approaching. Ray, followed by 
Mr. Woodhull and the hired man, left the barn where 
he was at work, and ran down to the little wharf near 
the house. He soon descried the boat quite a distance 
down the bay, but it was evidently making directly for 
the point. The only question was whether it would 
reach there before the squall struck. 

Ray and his companions watched anxiously the boat’s 
progress. A few minutes later it had arrived nearly 


176 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


opposite the point, and sheered around to run inside of 
it. They could now see Edward Lawton’s face, as he, 
pale and frightened, watched the coming storm. Evi- 
dently he knew his danger, and was doing all he could 
to reach the shore before the tempest struck. Five 
minutes more, and he would be safe ; would the squall 
hold off so long? No; it is coming; the trees on the 
point bowed before it, and the next instant it struck the 
boat. For a moment the little craft stood up bravely 
before the gale, and then as a tremendous gust struck it, 
it careened, struggled to right itself, then fell heavily 
over upon the tossing waves. 

Through the heavy rain that was now falling, the 
anxious watchers looked for the boy, and they soon dis- 
cerned him clinging in his desperation to the overturned 
boat. Another moment, and Ray sprang into the dory 
that lay at the wharf, and before he could be prevented, 
had seized the oars, and pulled off toward the unfortunate 
boy. The wind was in his favor, and though the dory 
was tossed like a cockle shell upon the waves, he slowly 
approached the capsized boat. It was evidently a hard 
struggle, but with bare head, and resolute face, the noble 
lad pulled on. Now he reached Edward, and with great 
difficulty drew him into the little boat. 

The storm lulled for an instant, and, laying his ex- 
hausted companion down in the dory, Ray took advan- 
tage of the circumstance, and turned the tossing craft for 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


177 


the shore. Half the distance, under his vigorous stroke, 
was gained, when the wind, changing a point or two, 
swept down in greater fury upon them. It is seldom 
such a gust of wind is experienced in northern latitudes. 
Trees were overturned, the water was dashed high into 
the air, and even houses were unroofed, by that terrible 
blast. When it had passed, Mr. Woodhull arose from 
the ground to which he had fallen, and look for the dory. 
It lay capsized a few rods away, while Ray, with one arm 
supporting the unconscious form of Edward, was strug- 
gling to reach the shore. But his strength soon failed, 
and the huge waves rolled within the reach of Mr. Wood- 
hull and his hired man — for both rushed into the angry 
waters — two unconscious forms. 

An hour later, Mr. Woodhull, on a foaming horse, 
dashed up to Dr. Gasque’s office, at Afton. Ten minutes 
after, the doctor drove his fleetest horse ofi* toward Long 
Point, while Mr. Woodhull went on to Mr. Lawton’s 
house. That gentleman and his wife, entering a close 
carriage, drove rapidly off through the raging storm after 
Mr. Woodhull, who had already turned his horse toward 
home. That was all Afton knew that night. 

But the next morning, on Dr. Gasque’s return home, 
the whole story came out. To the question anxiously 
asked on all sides, “ How are the boys ? ” he gave the 
same answer : 

‘‘ As wnU as could be expected under the circumstances, 
M 


178 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


for I tell you both had a narrow escape. Edward Law- 
ton can probably be brought home the first of the week. 
Ray will have to keep his bed a little longer. The boat, 
when it capsized, or some rock as he swam in with his 
exhausted comrade, has given him a fearful blow on the 
head. We shall pull him through, however.” 

Perhaps it was not intentional, but many a one at the 
First Church the next day thought of Edward and Ray, 
as Mr. Carleton read the words; 

“ But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them 
that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray 
for them that despitefully use you, and persecute you ; 
that ye may be the children of your Father which is in 
heaven.” 

They knew later also how peculiarly applicable those 
words were to Ray’s heroic act. 

On the following Monday, Edward was brought home ; 
he immediately sent a note to Mr. Greenough asking 
him to call after school. When he came the boy made 
a full confession of his wrong doing. 

“ I have told Ray all of this,” he added, “ and have 
his forgiveness ; I wish now to acknowledge my wrong 
doing to you, though I know it will prevent my taking 
any honor at the coming graduation. I am willing to 
do whatever you think is right, and will make any 
acknowledgment to the school that seems to you to be 
proper.” 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


179 


Mr. Greenough laid his hand on the repentant boy’s 
head : “You have already suffered much, my boy,” he said, 
kindly, “ and are so ready to acknowledge your wrong, 
that we will make it as easy for you as we can. I will 
talk the matter over with the school board, and will let 
you know later our decision. Will you and Ray be 
present at the examinations ? ” 

“ Yes, sir. I think so. Dr. Gasque says if we keep 
quiet all this week, he will let us come to school again 
next Monday, and that will be in time for the examina- 
tions. I want the boys to see that I don't hate Ray any 
longer, and ” — low^ering his voice, and speaking almost 
timidly “ — I am going to try and love the Saviour, too. 
I shudder every time I think how near I came to the 
other world without the shadow of a hope. 1 am so 
thankful that Ray saved me.” 

Mr. Greenough shook the lad’s hand warmly. “ I am 
rejoiced to hear you say this,” he said, and then he 
hastened away. 

On the next Monday morning the two boys came into 
the school yard at an early hour arm in arm. A quiet, 
peaceful, satisfied look was on Ray’s face, but Edward 
looked the proudest and happiest. They were greeted 
with three rousing cheers by their schoolmates, as they 
passed on into the schoolroom. They sat together during 
the examinations, and Edward looked with a hearty 
smile of congratulation at Ray, when it was announced 


180 


THE BLACK FOKGE MILLS. 


that he was to be the valedictorian. It would not be 
known who was to have the second prize until the close 
of the graduating exercises. 

There was much speculation among the scholars as to 
the one who would receive it, for it was known that 
Edward Lawton was no longer eligible to it. Mr. 
Greenough had himself acknowledged this at the com- 
mencement of the examinations. He had made a brief 
statement of the lad’s wrong doings, and his desire to 
acknowledge them before the school, concluding: “He 
has seemed so thoroughly penitent for what he has done, 
that the school board has simply decided to give him 
fifty demerits for his acts; but this will so afiect the 
record of his deportment, that even if his scholarship 
should warrant the bestowal of the second prize, he will 
be debarred from receiving it.’^ To whom, then, the 
handsome copy of Shakespeare’s works was to go was a 
secret known only to the examining committee. 

Wednesday, the graduating day, dawned bright and 
fair. During the early morning there was much hurry- 
ing to and fro by many feet, and when half-past ten 
came, the hour for the beginning of the exercises, Afton 
Hall was filled to overflowing with the Graded School 
pupils and their friends. On the spacious platform, 
which was beautifully decorated with flowers, were the 
members of the school board and of the examining 
committee, the teachers of the school, and the graduating 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


181 


class. The first speaker was Edward Lawton, and with 
an air of conscious pride he took his place, for he knew 
that the position assigned him virtually declared him to 
be second in rank, even though he could not hope to 
receive the second prize. He acquitted himself credita- 
bly, and returned to his seat amid tremenduous applause. 
Other speakers and essayists followed in rapid succession 
until the last speaker, the valedictorian, was reached. 

With the straightforward, manly air so characteristic 
of him, Ray Branford began his address. His theme 
was “ The Maid of Orleans.” He emphasized her divine 
call and mission, and in his parting words to his class- 
mates impressed upon them the importance of obedience 
to the same divine influence. 

Then the prizes were awarded. The chairman of the 
school board, a Mr. Ward well, arose, and having con- 
gratulated the teachers upon the successful issue of the 
school year, called, “ Ray Branford ! ” 

Ray would hardly have been human had there not 
been some exultation in his heart, as he went forward to 
receive the silver medal, the highest honor of his class ; 
but when he turned to retrace his steps to his seat, and 
saw Edward Lawton’s bright, happy look, he felt he 
would have gladly surrendered it, were it possible, to the 
boy who once had hated, but now so loved him. 

“John Bacon! ” was called next. Pale with astonish- 
ment, he arose and went forward. Mr. Ward well held 


182 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


the beautiful copy of Shakespeare in his hand, and hav- 
ing explained to the audience the circumstances under 
which this second prize had been offered, he continued : 

“ Ray Branford, as the recipient of the silver medal, 
our highest honor, was debarred from receiving this, 
though his progress in his studies, his high scholarship, 
and perfect deportment, would otherwise have entitled 
him to it. It is also no more than just to Edward Law- 
ton to state that his scholarship entitled him, as the next 
in rank, to this gift, had there not been, through circum- 
staiTces I need not repeat here, an imperfect record in 
his deportment. This fact alone carries the prize to the 
next in rank, who is, I am glad to say, one of our cor- 
poration scholars, Mr. John Bacon.” And he laid the 
handsome volume in the bewildered boy’s hands, who 
stammered out his thanks, and then returned to his seat. 

“ Edward Lawton ! ” said Mr. Ward well. The boy, 
w’ho had been nodding pleasantly to John, rose suddenly 
to his feet, and with some hesitation went down the 
platform. Could it be there was a third prize? Yes; 
for a package had just been handed to Mr. Wardwell, 
and rapidly undoing it, he held another beautiful book 
in his hand. As Edward reached him, Mr. Wardwell, 
turning to the audience, said: “I have stated that the 
imperfect deportment of Master Lawton prevented him, 
in the judgment of the committee, from receiving the 
second prize. But when he so nobly confessed his wrong. 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


183 


and manifested such marked penitence, the committee 
decided to give a third prize. This copy of Milton’s 
works, of equal value with the copy of Shakespeare, was 
purchased, and I now present it to Master Edward 
Lawton in recognition of his high scholarship, and of the 
manly acknowledgment of his faults which he has made.” 

With glad, happy tears filling his eyes and coursing 
down his cheeks, Edward received the volumes. He 
felt that the honors conferred upon him had been greater 
than he had deseiwed, and in his intense emotion he 
could only bow his thanks. The diplomas were now 
presented, and with that act the senior class ceased to be, 
while the other seven departments of the school each 
advanced a grade, and gave place for a new primary. 

There was another event shortly after that brought 
deep joy to many interested ones. Edward Lawton 
united with the First Church. In the relation of his ex- 
perience he alluded to the night that he had clung so 
desperately to the overturned boat in the storm. 

“ I saw my sins, then,” he said, “ as I never saw them 
before ; and when on recovering consciousness some hours 
later I found the one I had most injured had been my 
rescuer, it brought forcibly to my mind my relations to 
the great Saviour. All my life I had been wronging 
him, yet he had given himself for me. In gratitude, 
then, I hastened to him, and placed myself, I believe, in 
his protecting arms forever.” 


184 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


Daisy Lawton’s class in the Sunday-school was near 
Miss Squire’s class, and on the day Edward united with 
the church she, as the school repeated together the golden 
text for the day, looked over to Ray and smiled. The 
words were ; “ Let him know, that he which converteth 
the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul 
from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” 


CHAPTER XIIL 


THE STRIKE. 

^ ^ T DO not see how we can do differently. It is simply 
-i- a choice between shutting down the mills alto- 
gether or reducing the wages of the help. For the sake 
of the employes we have chosen the latter alternative. 
The whole board of directors is agreed in this, so you 
will please see that proper notice is given. Make the 
time August first.” It was Mr. James Lawton, the presi- 
dent of the Black Forge Mills corporation, who spoke, 
and then he went slowly from the mill ofiice to his wait- 
ing carriage. 

“ Yes ; of course,” replied Mr. Bacon, the superintend- 
ent of the mills, following the first-named gentleman out 
on the sidewalk, “ I do not see what else can be done, 
but — ” and he dropped his voice so that the driver of the 
carriage should not hear him — “I fear there will be 
serious trouble. Ever since there have been rumors of 
this reduction things here have been in a state of ferment. 
Hyde, Blake, Willis, and some of the other department 
overseers have been talking to the help, and many of 

them have already gotten the notion that they are mis- 

185 


186 


THE BLACK FOKGE MILLS. 


used. This reduction of their wages may prove to be 
the last straw, and the help may go out in a bunch.” 

“Well, we shall know what to do then,” remarked 
Mr. Lawton, dryly. “ If the help cannot see that a half ’ 
loaf is better than no loaf, they must go without any 
bread, so far as we are concerned. For myself, were it 
not for the suffering it must bring to these families, I 
would prefer to shut down at once.” And entering the 
carriage he was driven rapidly away. 

It was early in the month of July. The great business 
depression which had for some months been carrying 
havoc all over the land had now reached Afton. Man- 
ufacturer after manufacturer had already failed, and for 
several months the Black Forge Mills had been run at a 
heavy loss. The directors, all of them kind-hearted, 
Christian men, had done their best to stem the adverse 
tide, and, for the sake of their employes, to keep the 
mills running on full time and at full pay. But the time 
had at last come when one of two things must be done : 
the mills must be shut down, or else the cost of running 
them must be reduced. Thinking only of the help, who 
could ill afford to be without employment, they had, the 
night previous to the opening of this chapter, decided 
upon the reduction of wages which Mr. Lawton had just 
announced to Mr. Bacon. 

The directors knew that their decision would create 
much dissatisfaction, but they had hoped that a fair and 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


187 


candid statement of the condition of the mills, and a 
direct appeal to the good sense of the help to accept 
smaller wages, rather than no wages at all, would prevent 
any serious trouble. But they overestimated the good 
judgment of their employes, and forgot how easily a few 
hot-headed leaders could transform a dissatisfied people 
into a frenzied mob. 

A few days later, following out the instructions he had 

received, Mr. Bacon caused the following notice to be 

0 ■ 

conspicuously displayed about the mill premises : 

IMPORTANT NOTICE. 

For six months the Black Forge Mills have been run at a serious 
loss to the corporation, and at last the directors have been forced 
to one of two issues : Closing the mills, or reducing the expenses. 

For some time the board has hesitated as to which of these 
measures it would be the wiser to adopt. So far as the interests 
of the corporation are concerned, it would be better to shut down 
the mills at once ; for the employes, however, it is certainly 
better that the mills should continue to run, even though they 
should receive less compensation for their work. This latter con- 
sideration has led the directors to finally decide to keep the mills 
running, But in order to do so they are compelled to announce 
that on and after August 1 there will be the following reductions 
on the present wages : 

A ten per cent, reduction on all wages of one dollar and under. 

A fifteen per cent, reduction on all wages over one dollar and 
under two dollars! 

A twenty per cent, reduction on all wages of two dollars and over. 

At the same time, they assure all who labor for the corporation 
that, the moment the present financial depression is over, there 
will be an immediate return to the present rate of wages.' 

Per order of The Directors. 


188 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


“That’s all gammon — ^hey, George?” asked a great 
strapping fellow, named Blake, of George Branford, as 
he passed him in the mill, pointing, as he spoke, to one 
of the notices which was posted near them. 

“ I hardly think so,” replied George, good-naturedly ; 
“ we all know that the times are hard. Half of the up- 
town mills are already shut down, and I have been fear- 
ing something of that kind might happen here. For 
myself I am thankful it is nothing worse than this.” 

“ Get out ! ” exclaimed the man, angrily ; “ any one 
but a fool can see this is only done to hoodwink us into 
a complete submission to their wishes. I for one am tired 
of being ground under the heel of a soulless corporation.” 

“ You have a right to leave any time, I believe,” 
George quietly answered. “No one compels you to 
work here. The corporation tells you what they can 
afford to give for your work ; you may take it or not as 
you choose. I have faith in the statement of the direc- 
tors. They are all Christian men, and I don’t believe 
they intend to grind us under their heels. Rather, I 
believe, did we know the whole truth, we should find that 
they, even with this reduction in our wages, will sacrifice 
somewhat to keep us in work.” 

“ Oh, yes ; I remember now, we are a Christian, too,” 
said his companion, with a sneer ; “ and, of course, we 
must stand up for our brother Christians, even when 
they grind us to death.” 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


189 


“ I have not been ground to death as yet,” went on 
George, ignoring the thrust at his religious faith, “ nor 
do I believe the corporation intends to bring me to that 
tragic fate. If we refuse to accept this reduction, the 
mills will stop, and we shall be worse off than we would 
be on the small pay.” 

“ No, we won’t,” replied Blake, eagerly. “ Don’t you 
see if we all agree in this thing, we shall force the corpora- 
tion to keep right on at the present rate of wages ? All 
we want to do is just to stand by each other, and we can 
have our own way in this thing.” 

“ No, I don’t see it,” answered George, shortly, “ and 
you can count me out of any such arrangement.” Then 
he resumed his work. 

He and a few others in the mill who thought as he did 
about the proposed reduction soon found themselves, 
however, entirely ignored by the rest of their associates ; 
and it was speedily evident that some movement was 
being agitated of which they could only conjecture. 
Knots of men gathered here and there at the close of 
each day’s work, and talked earnestly, often excitedly 
together. Men lingered longer at the saloons, and drank 
oftener from their cups, while faces grew dark and sul- 
len at each new view of the notices posted so conspicu- 
ously around them. 

Mr. Bacon quickly discerned these changes, and felt 
sure that trouble was coming. As rapidly as possible, 


190 THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 

but quietly, lest his purpose be suspected, and the open 
rupture between himself and the help be hastened, he 
brought the affairs of the mills into a condition for an 
immediate closing. 

This came, as he had anticipated, on the first morning 
of August. Going down to his office at an earlier hour 
than usual, he found the mills deserted. The great 
engine was motionless ; not a piece of machinery mani- 
fested life ; it was like a Sunday in the vast shops and 
yards ; while on the street corners and about the neigh- 
boring saloons were groups of noisy, insolent men, who 
were evidently waiting for his coming. 

Taking in the situation at a glance, Mr. Bacon entered 
his office, to find his bookkeepers and about a dozen of 
non-striking men, anxiously watching the outside throng. 

“ I want some one to help close and fasten up the 
buildings and yards,” he said, promptly and resolutely. 
“ Those of you who may fear to compromise yourselves with 
your companions are at liberty to retire. On the other 
hand, those of you who are willing to assist me, shall be 
well paid for your trouble. Who now will volunteer ? ” 

Every man stepped forward. 

Kapidly Mr. Bacon issued his orders. “ Go out of the 
back door of the office, and swing to the gates, and bar 
them in place. Then scatter among the buildings, fasten- 
ing down the windows, lowering the shutters, and locking 
the doors. While you are doing that, I will hold the 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


191 


angry crowd at bay in front of tbe office. As soon as you 
have finished your work come back here, for I may need 
you.*’ And as the men hastened away to do his bidding, 
he fearlessly threw open the front door of the office, and 
stepped calmly out to meet the crowd of excited men, 
who were moving down toward him. 

They grew less turbulent as they drew near, and found 
the yard gates closed, and the superintendent on the 
office steps, picking his teeth with the utmost unconcern, 
and looking down unflinchingly into their excited faces. 
He certainly was not afraid of them, and their oaths, 
and shouts, as they came on, had failed to intimidate 
him in the least. His coolness and bravery had a visible 
efiect upon them, and they became silent as he pleasantly 
remarked : 

“ You seem unduly excited this morning, my friends ; 
may I inquire what your trouble is ? ” 

Hyde, the leader of the crowd, a man of almost giant 
size, stepped out from the others a few paces, and inso- 
lently answered : 

“ We’ve come to demand what is our right, and we 
propose to have it peaceably if we can, but forcibly if we 
must.” 

“ What is your right ?” asked Mr. Bacon, calmly. 

“ That there be no reduction in our wages whatever,” 
answered the fellow, boldly ; “that we be allowed to return 
to our work at old rates.” 


192 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


“ And suppose we refuse, what then ? ” inquired Mr. 
Bacon, with some show of interest in his tones. 

The silence that followed was prolonged and oppres- 
sive in iS intensity. Hyde evidently was nonplussed at 
the way he and his followers were received. Mr. Bacon 
had, however, asked a fair question, and he was waiting 
patiently for an answer. 

Hyde was too keen-witted to make any threat, and 
thus render himself liable to an immediate arrest. 

“We claim this as our right, and intend to maintain 
it to the end,” he finally replied. “We shall refuse to 
go to work until our demand is granted.” And a mur- 
mur of approval could be heard among his followers. 

“ My good fellows,” said Mr. Bacon, in clear, ringing 
tones, “ you have entirely misunderstood the attitude of 
the Black Forge Mills corporation toward you. The 
reduction in your wages which was to go into effect to- 
day was made not because we desired to make it, but 
because we could not prevent it. For six months the 
corporation has gone behind at the rate of four thousand 
dollars a month. The reduction we propose would save 
us but three thousand ; but that you might have work, 
the corporation was willing to loose the one thousand 
each month. They much prefer to close the mills, but 
for your sakes took this way to keep them open. Your 
persistency in your demand will only force upon them 
the other alternative. From this hour, unless you yield. 


THE BEA.OK FORGE MILLS. 


193 


the Black Forge Mills will be closed ; when they will 
open again, I cannot say. Think well, then, before you 
persist in your unreasonable demand. If, however, this 
should be your decision, we shall to-morrow be ready to 
pay the wages due you in full. I am also instructed by 
the directors to announce that you may occupy your 
homes, free of rent, until October 1st. This is the best 
we can do for you under the circumstances.” 

There was a Resoluteness about Mr. Bacon that carried 
conviction with his utterances, and the leaders of the 
strike consulted together as to their next move. While 
they were in consultation, Mr. Bacon stepped back into 
the office, to which his small band of helpers had already 
returned. They announced everything as secure, and 
gave him the keys to the buildings and yards. “ Please 
wait until I can dismiss my visitors,” he remarked, some- 
what dryly, “ then I have further work for some of you.” 

He was now loudly called for by the crowd, and went 
boldly out to meet it. 

“Mr. Bacon,” said the leader, more respectfully than 
he had yet spoken, “ we have no doubt of your sincerity, 
and we know that you are simply acting in accordance 
with your instructions, but we have decided to make our 
appeal directly to Mr. Lawton himself” 

“ That is your privilege,” replied Mr. Bacon, kindly ; 
“ but let me suggest that you send a committee to wait 

upon him, instead of going with your present numbers.” 

N 


194 


THE BLACK FOBGE MILLS. 


But the crowd refused his advice, and moved off in a 
body toward Mr. Lawton’s residence. There was tele- 
graphic communication between the office and town, and 
Mr. Bacon, with characteristic promptness, sent a message 
to both Mr. Lawton and the captain of the police. When, 
then, the strikers reached Prospect Avenue, on which 
Mr. Lawton resided, they found their progress checked 
by a squad of armed policemen, and only a delegation 
from the throng was permitted to pass on to an interview 
with the gentleman they sought. A half hour later, 
completely baffied in securing any concessions from the 
president of the corporation until he had consulted with 
his directors, they returned to their waiting companions, 
and, angry and sullen, the mob slowly dispersed. 

Meanwhile, Mr. Bacon had placed his faithful allies 
in charge of the mill property, and driven off up town. 
A directors’ meeting had been called at ten o’clock that 
morning in anticipation of this very trouble with the 
help. The meeting was a long one, for the problem the 
directors tried to solve was how to still conciliate the em- 
ployes, and arrange for their best interests. The decision 
finally was to attempt a compromise with the strikers by 
lessening the per cent, of reduction. An extra force of 
police was, however, secured as a precautionary measure, 
and sent down to the Forge to protect the mill property, 
and to keep the peace until the compromise was effected. 

All attempts at a compromise on the part of the 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


195 


directors during the long weeks that followed, were, 
however, unsuccessful. The help, inspired by a few hot- 
headed leaders, who pointed out to them that these con- 
cessions on the part of the corporation were a sign of its 
yielding, strenuously demanded full pay before they 
would return to work. It now seemed probable that the 
mills would remain shut down for an indefinite period. 

But when October came, Hyde, and Blake, and Willis, 
and some of the other instigators of the strike suddenly 
left the Forge, apparently for new places of labor. The 
mill corporation, therefore, ventured to put its property 
into a condition for starting, and placards announced 
that on the first of November work would be given all 
who were willing to accept the reduced wages. No 
sooner were these notices out, however, than Hyde and 
Blake re-appeared at the Forge, and a few days later 
huge' posters were stuck up on every side, threatening all 
who accepted the offer of the mill corporation. It 
became evident, therefore, that the mills could not be 
re-started on the plan proposed, without great risk to 
both property and life ; but as the work of putting the 
‘mills in readiness went steadily forward, it seemed 
probable that the corporation would take that risk. 


CHAPTER XIV. 


GEOKGE Branford’s home. 


LOW sigh, that was all, but the quick ears of Betsy 



JL\. Branford heard it, and she looked toward the table 
at which her husband, with bowed head, was sitting, and 
then a heavier sigh escaped her own lips. She sat in a 
low rocker near one of the windows of their humble 
kitchen, paler and thinner than usual, for at her feet was 
a cradle in which a babe of only a few weeks lay. The 
babe slept quietly, however, and after that sigh escaped 
her, she turned and gazed out of the window and off 
toward the hills, with the same troubled look that had 
been in her eyes all the morning. 

George was in great trouble just then, but the chahge 
that brought it was small compared with the change in 
him, wrought since the winter before. Having once 
accepted Christ as his Saviour, he had gone manfully 
about his daily duties amid his old temptations and as- 
sociations, and in spite of jeers and ridicule he had kept 
the faith. He had grown wonderfully in grace also, and 
he and Sailor Jack had become fast friends, and had 
more than once knelt together and prayed for the Master’s 
blessing upon the Black Forge people. 


196 


the black forge mills. 


197 


What a difference it makes in a man when he is 
‘^clothed and in his right mind”? Betsy Branford 
would have told you that she could scarcely believe her- 
self that this strong, manly, sober, industrious George 
Branford, was the wild, reckless, drinking, ungodly man 
whom she had called husband so short a time before. 
He was so strong in his faith, too ; so sure that God 
heard and answered prayer, that she had, even in these 
few months of his Christian life, come to lean upon him, 
and to look to him for help in her own religious growth. 
When, now, he happened to be cast down and discour- 
aged, her own heart grew weak, and her faith failed. 

What was the trouble? Why this — and no wonder the 
strong man grew faint for a moment : the last morsel of 
food in that house had been eaten that morning. Hot a 
mouthful remained for that frail mother; not a mouthful 
for the little children ; not even a drop of milk for that 
slee})ing babe. Hor was this extreme want due to any 
fault or neglect of that strong, manly husband. The 
little that came to him when the Forge Mills shut down 
had been carefully husbanded. He had used his money 
only for the barest necessaries of life, and he had earned 
every cent he could during the weeks the mills had been 
still. But with hundreds of idle men seeking and 
clamoring for work, there had been but little for each 
one, and the pay for that little was meagre indeed, and 
soon exhausted. 


198 


THE BLACX FORGE MILLS. 


It was a large family, too, for one pair of hands to 
provide for. Mr. Branford, Sr., ever since the strike, 
had hung about the saloons, and the little he earned went 
into the rumseller’s till, or was whiffed away in smoke. 
He came around to the house, however, for his meals, 
and uttered many a bitter oath if he was obliged to go 
away without them. Then there were the three sisters, 
all Christians now, and practicing self-denial in every way, 
and ready to do any honest work ; but they got little, 
and this was their only home. Even now they had gone 
out to the hills with Betsy’s older children, hunting for 
chestnuts that bright October morning that they might 
sell them for bread. Of those older children there were 
three, and now in the cradle lay a fourth ; and then 
there was the wife and mother, and lastly the strong, 
hearty husband and father. Ten mouths in all ! Is it 
any wonder that with his scanty work and scantier pay, 
and with his most rigid economy, too, they had now 
reached a condition of absolute want? 

When the placards had announced the possibility of 
the mills starting up early the next month, new hope had 
come to George Branford’s breast. This struggle with 
absolute want would be short, and soon over now, he 
thought. He had met Mr. Bacon, in fact, only a few 
days before, and that gentleman, stopping him, had 
asked : 

“George, do you feel competent to take charge of 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


199 


the jack rooms, in case we start up the mills next 
month ? ” 

‘‘Yes, sir,’’ George had promptly answered, a great 
hope filling his heart. 

“ Well, then, we’ll book you for that position; but I’ll 
see you again,” Mr. Bacon had pleasantly replied, as he 
drove on. 

This had meant more to George than you and I can 
realize ; it would be the best position and the largest pay 
he had ever received in his life. One of the sisters 
could stay out of the mill now, and help Betsy with the 
children and the housework, and it would be so much 
nicer for them all. So he had built his day dreams for 
those he loved, and his heart had swelled with gratitude 
toward God, who was dealing so graciously with him. 
But this morning all those dreams and hopes had been 
rudely dashed to the ground. The huge posters insti- 
gated by Hyde and his followers had appeared, and it 
was rumored that now the mills would not start up at all. 
For the first time, then, in all those weary weeks, George 
had become despondent, and his despondency fell like a 
dark cloud over his poor wife’s heart. Without a word 
they had for an hour sat there, she at the window and he 
at the table. He had not meant that his low sigh should 
be heard. He had struggled hard to suppress it, but for 
his life he could not keep it back. Perhaps it was the 
best thing he could have done, however, for when Betsy 


200 THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 

looked over at him, and a heavier sigh escaped her lips, 
he aroused himself. A Bible lay on the table before him. 
He opened it listlessly. Was it chance that his eye im- 
mediately rested upon these words: “Call unto me, and 
I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty 
things, which thou knowest not”? 

He read the words aloud, and to Betsy, who had not 
even noticed that he had raised his head, they came with 
a suddenness and power that brought back her faith in 
God with a quick rush that overflowed her heart. 

“ Oh, George ! ” she exclaimed, rising and coming has- 
tily over to his side, “ how could we doubt God so, just as 
though he could not even now give us all we need and 
more? ” 

“ You are right, darling,” he said, resolutely. And 
with her he knelt there, and together they asked God to 
forgive their lack of faith, and to give them a trust that 
would leave all things temporal, as well as spiritual, in 
his hands. They rose from their knees greatly comforted, 
and walked over to the window together. 

“ There is Bill Davis’ boat ! ” exclaimed George, sud- 
denly, as his eye fell on the rude dory hitched in the 
brook near the house. “ I believe I will borrow it, and 
go down the bay clamming. There will be a good tide a 
little before noon. Then if the girls get some nuts they 
can exchange them for crackers, and we shall be pro- 
vided for to-day.” 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


201 


“Why not go down to Long Point — that is a good 
place for clams; and then you can see Ray?*’ asked 
Betsy. 

“ I’m afraid he will insist on knowing how we are situ- 
ated here at home,” replied her husband, “ and will make 
me take some money. You know when you were ^ck 
he made me take ten dollars, and then when here two 
weeks ago he left five dollars with you. It seems too bad 
to take his money when he is working so hard to get an 
education.” 

“Your going to Long Point won’t make any difference 
about that,” said Betsy ; “ for if he don’t see you before 
long, he will surely come here. He knows well enough 
that you have hard work to get along, and he said to me 
when here that he ought to bear his part of the expenses 
in this crisis just as much as you.” 

“ I know he feels so, and his willingness to do for us 
forms one of the very reasons why I want to receive as 
little help from him as possible,” replied George. “ But 
Long Point is a good place for clams, and I will go down 
there, since you have suggested it. It may, perhaps, 
be the way in which the Lord is going to answer our 
prayers.” And getting his basket and hoe, and putting 
on a pair of heavy boots, he prepared to go. 

Before he left the house, however, there came a knock 
at the door. On opening it, Mr. Jacol) Woodhull stepped 
in, with a large pail in his hand. 


202 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


“ How are you, George ? How do you do, Mrs. Bran- 
ford ? Fine day ! I was going up town, and thought I 
would bring you along a pail of milk,” he said, extending 
the pail he carried to George. “ When you have three 
or four of those fellows,” and he pointed at the cradle, 
“ milk always comes in handy.” 

“ Indeed, it does ; and you don’t know how thankful 
we are for it,” Betsy answered, while George went into 
the pantry to empty the pail. 

“ Perhaps I do now,” the old gentleman replied, with 
a smile. 

A moment later the husband and wife were alone. 
They looked at each other a few moments, and then 
George slowly repeated the words : “ Call upon me, and 
I will answer thee.” “God has begun to answer us 
already, Betsy,” he said, gently and reverently. Then 
kissing her and the sleeping child, he left the house. 

He had no difficulty in securing the boat, and soon 
was pulling rapidly down the bay. An hour later he 
landed on Long Point, and, as the tide was already well 
out, he took his basket and hoe and began his search for 
the delicious bivalves. The tide proved to be a favorable 
one, and his basket was nearly full, when a voice sud- 
denly exclaimed : 

“You have done well, George; but I’ll show you a 
quicker way yet, and we’ll fill your basket. Then you 
must come up to the house and take dinner with me.’* 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


203 


It was Ray who spoke, and with a six-tined fork in his 
hand he came down the bank to meet his brother. They 
shook hands cordially, and then Ray, with a few turns 
of his fork, threw out enough to fill the basket to its 
utmost capacity. 

“ There, now, pull your boat up, and secure it against 
the incoming tide, George, while I cover these clams over 
with rock weed and set them up there in the shade. 
Then we’ll go up to the house,” said Ray. 

As they walked along, Ray questioned George as to 
the family, and soon learned the condition of things at 
the old home. He also learned for the first time of the 
threatening placards that had been put out, and the 
probability that the mills would not start, after all. 

“ I tell you what it is, George,” Ray said, as they drew 
near the house, “ I am coming up to the village to-mor- 
row evening, and will come on down home for a while. 
We’ll then talk these matters over, arid see what the 
outlook for you is. But give yourself no anxiety as to 
the future. I told you long ago I stood ready to help 
you. The trouble is, you in your unselfishness have 
wanted to carry this burden alone, and I selfishly have 
allowed you to do it. Ten mouths are a good many to 
satisfy, and for the next month you must let me bear the 
whole burden.” 

“ But you know you have helped me already, Ray,” 
said George, “ and I knew how anxious you were to go 


204 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


to some good school this fall, so I tried to get through 
with the burden as well as I could, without letting you 
know about it.” 

“ You great big unselfish brother ! ” replied Ray, tears 
coming into his eyes. “ I shall help you, nevertheless. 
God can provide a way for me to go to school, if that is 
his will.” 

After dinner, Ray accompanied George back to the 
boat, wheeling on a barrow two bushels of nice potatoes. 
Having placed them in the dory, he handed George two 
dollars, saying : “ This is all I have by me now, but it 
will last you over to-morrow. I will get more of Mr. 
Woodhull when he comes home this evening, and to-mor- 
row night I will bring you enough to pay your rent and 
keep you running until the mill starts up. If anything 
prevents that, we’ll see what else we can find for you to 
do.” 

George wrung the generous boy’s hand until he winced 
with the pain, and then, entering his boat, pulled with a 
light heart off toward home. 

The next evening a high wind was blowing directly 
down the bay, and heavy clouds covered the sky ; so Ray 
drove around to the village. Putting his horse under 
one of the First Church sheds, he did his errands, and 
then walked on down to the Forge. 

George and he were soon so busy talking over the 
family affairs, and the prospect of the mills starting up, 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 205 

that he took no notice of the lapse of time, and was sur- 
prised when the clock struck eleven. 

“ Well, George,” he said, on rising to go, “ if the mills 
start up on the first of November, I should accept the 
position Mr. Bacon has ofiered you. It is your right, 
and I should leave the result to God. Possibly this 
threatening of Hyde and the others is all bluster, and if 
they find that they cannot intimidate the corporation, 
they will back down, as they did in July. I heard up at 
the village that the managers knew where they could 
get all the men they wanted, and that they really 
intended to start in November with a full force.” 

“ I hope it may prove so,” answered George, “ but 
father was in this noon, and he declared the mills would 
never start again. He is thick with Hyde and Willis, 
and ought to know what they are about.” 

“ Time alone can tell,” replied Kay, “ but here is the 
money I promised.” And he handed George thirty dollars, 
and his three sisters and Betsy five dollars each. “ I 
have some more yet which I have saved, and you shall 
have every dollar of it if necessary.” And to avoid their 
profuse thanks he hurried out of the house. 

As he turned the corner and came on the main street, 
he heard a step behind him, and glancing quickly around 
he caught sight of a figure hurrying off in the darkness. 
He needed no second glance to enable him to recognize 
that stooping figure, and slow, shuffling gait as belonging 


206 THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 

to his own father, and a desire to know where he could 
be going at that time of night led him to turn and fol- 
low slowly along behind him. 

He had not far to go, for his father turned up the first 
side street leading toward the mills, and soon stopped 
before a small building. Ray knew it was a low grog- 
gery, but the shutters were down, and the place seemed 
to be deserted. He found a moment later, however, that 
such was not the real case, for at his father’s knock, the 
door quickly opened, and he entered. 

“ That means a night of wild carousing, with compan* 
ions as reckless as himself,” said Ray, bitterly, as he 
turned to retrace his steps. “ O Lord,” he then cried, 
“ wilt thou not bring him soon to a knowledge of thyself? ” 

As he turned on to the main street again, he glanced 
back along the passage way. The door of the saloon was 
now open, and in the light that streamed forth he recog- 
nized the four men who suddenly came out and went on 
up the alley toward the mills. They were his father, a 
man named Smith, and Blake and Hyde, the leaders of 
the strike. He also heard some one in the groggery call 
out to the men as they hastened away : “ Come back 
here, boys, as quick as possible.” 

What could the men be going to do ? A dark fore- 
boding of some great evil came to Ray’s heart, as he 
noiselessly followed on after the four men. Were they 
about to commit some crime ? He did not dare approach 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


207 


too closely, lest his presence should be discovered. And 
when he reached the tall fence forming the mill yard he 
had lost sight of them. He listened, but heard no steps J 
he could not even tell which way they had now gone. 
He remembered that a ways down that side of the fence 
on which he was standing there was a small door lead- 
ing directly to the mills, but it was seldom used. He 
would go down as far as that, and see if it was closed. 
He soon reached it, and found that it was firmly fastened. 
He breathed easier. Perhaps the men were only out on 
some drunken frolic, after all ; and provoked at himself 
for his needless apprehension, he hurried back to the 
main street, and went almost on a run up town. When 
he reached the hill he went more slowly, and at its top he 
turned and looked down upon the village below. 

Silence and darkness reigned everywhere. The wind 
blew terribly, and sent the chilly night air to his very 
bones. He could not tell, why he lingered there, but he 
did with his eyes fastened upon that part of the darkness 
which he knew hid the great mills from his sight. 

Suddenly he gave a great start. He had seen a 
glimmer of light down near the largest mill. It grew in 
brilliancy, and then lights flashed forth from three other 
buildings in the mill yard, and streamed up into the air, 
fanned by the fierce wind. He could not be mistaken. 
The Black Forge Mills were on fire, and in that high 
wind no human power could save them. 


CHAPTER XV. 


FIRE AT THE MILLS. 

R ay acted instinctively, and so did the most natural 
thing under the circumstances. Screaming “ fire 
two or three times at the top of his voice, he ran swiftly 
down the hill toward the mills. Xor did he keep upon 
the street up which he had just come; but, jumping over 
the nearest fence, he took the most direct line for the 
burning building. In three minutes he had reached the 
east fence of the mill yard, and ran along it, looking for 
some place to climb over. He had a vague notion that 
if he could only reach those flames before they got under 
too great headway, he might subdue them. 

The fire had not yet gained sufficient force to afford 
him any light, and he ran along in the darkness until he 
suddenly struck against a ladder reaching to the top of 
the fence, with force enough to send it to the ground with 
a loud clatter, while he fell headlong over it. Before he 
could rise to his feet, he heard a voice that he knew only 
too well, saying, apparently from the top of the fence 
near him : 

“The wind has blown down our ladder, boys. I just 
heard it fall. We shall have to jump. Hurry up.” 

208 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 209 

Then the speaker leaped to the ground and hurried 
away. A moment later a second man followed, then a 
third, and a fourth. The last, however, had evidently 
jumped from a position a little farther along the fence 
than his companions, and, stumbling over the crouching 
lad as he leaped, both rolled on the ground. 

“ Hang it all. Smith ; I thought you had gone on. 
Hid I hurt you ? ” remarked this person, rising to his 
feet. 

No one could mistake that gigantic form, even in the 
darkness. It was Hyde, the leader of the strike. For 
answer Ray rose and sprang fearlessly upon the man, 
trying to throw him, and to hold him down. With an 
exclamation of astonishment, the giant threw one arm 
around the plucky boy, holding him as in a vise. Then 
he passed a hand over the lad’s smooth face. A cry of 
dismay now leaped from his lips, and'with a savage oath 
he flung his victim, with ho gentle force, back against 
the fence, and immediately disappeared. 

Ray lay where he had fallen for a brief moment, con- 
fused, and sick at heart. He had recognized all four 
men. The first had been his own father, the second 
Blake, the third Smith, the last Hyde ; and they, beyond 
any possible doubt, had set fire to the mills. 

But he could now hear the crackling of the flames, 
and already the light was beginning to throw its rays 

over upon him. If this fire was checked, he must act at 

o 


210 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


once. He crawled to his feet, and, as fast as he was able, 
hurried off toward the main street. 

Had the mills been running, there would have been 
ample power, and a full supply of hose right at hand for 
checking the flames, the corporation having always de- 
pended upon itself in such emergencies. Whatever help 
was secured now, however, must come from the Afton 
fire department. Ray knew this ; and his purpose was 
to reach the nearest fire box, and sound the alarm. 

He had some distance to go, and he cried out “ fire ! ’’ 
“fire!” as he ran along, hoping to arouse the Forge 
people. Not a Avindow opened, however; not a man ap- 
peared. “ There are enough who hear me, and know of 
it,” he said to himself, indignantly, “ but they don’t wish 
to respond.” Just at the foot of the hill on the main 
street was the nearest alarm box. Opening it, Ray gave 
the knob a quick jerk. It came off in his hand. The 
connecting wire had been cut ; and no alarm from that 
box could be sounded. 

“ They mean to make thorough work of the mills to- 
night,” he muttered. “No alarm can now be given 
without going clear to the central station.” And for the 
second time that night he dashed off up town at his great- 
est speed. 

Ten minutes elapsed before Ray could reach the cen- 
tral station, arouse the slumbering firemen, and have a 
general alarm sounded ; and the destroying flames, fanned 


THE BLACK FOBGE MILLS. 


211 


by that terrible wind, gained during that time a hold 
upon the mills that it was impossible to check. As soon 
as Kay had seen the first engine and hose cart go off 
toward the Forge, he ran on to Mr. Bacon’s house, much 
farther up town. He succeeded in arousing that gentle- 
man ; and, having told him of the fire, he, at Mr. Bacon’s 
request, went on to Mr. Lawton’s residence. At his first 
ring, a window in the second story was thrown up, and a 
voice that Ray knew to be Edward’s asked : 

“ Who are you ? What do you want ? ” 

“ Tell your father, Ned, that the Forge Mills are on 
fire ! ” exclaimed Kay, with some show of excitement. 

“ Oh, it is you, is it, Ray ? ” responded Edward, no less 
excitedly. “ Hold on a moment, and I'll tell father, and 
then join you. We’ll go down together.” 

Kay was only too glad to take a brief rest after his 
long run, and sat down upoM the steps until Edward 
appeared. 

“ I told father ; and he and mother and Daisy have 
gone to the west windows, where they can see the flames 
quite plainly. But as father is not well to-night, he will 
not go down,” he announced on joining his companion. 
Then, as they went on down the street together, he asked : 

“ How came you to know of it, Kay ? ” 

“ I came up to the village to-night, and went on down 
to the Forge for a while. I stayed longer than I meant 
to, and it was between eleven and twelve when I started 


212 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


up town, where I had left my horse. From the top of 
the hill I noticed a light in the mill yard, and watching 
it I saw that it was a fire. Then I ran back down there, 
trying to arouse the people, and to send an alarm from 
the fire box ; but I found the wire had been cut, and so 
had to come back to the central station to give the alarm. 
From there I went to Mr. Bacon’s house, and at his 
request I came to yours,” explained Ray, briefly, not 
caring to tell his companion any more. 

“ It's the work of Hyde and his followers, fast enough,” 
went on Edward ; “ but I wonder where the watchman 
was that he didn’t give the alarm? ” 

“ I don’t know ; I never thought of that,” replied Ray, 
with a sickening fear at his heart, for he wondered if the 
four men had added the crime of murder to that of 
arson. 

They had now reached the brow of the hill above the 
Forge, and had an uninterrupted view of the fire. A 
single glance showed that all the mills were doomed, and 
that the firemen would have all that they could do to 
keep the flames confined to the mill yard. It would have 
been a grand sight were it not for the devastation and 
ruin it brought. The mill yard contained about an acre, 
and taking all the buildings within its precincts, they 
numbered twenty. Every one of these was on fire, and 
the yard had the appearance of one solid mass of flames, 
which leaped into the air, as though defying the dark 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


213 


clouds that hung over, and threatened soon to drench 
them. The sombre background reflected the rays, so 
that for a long distance around the smallest object was 
plainly visible. 

“ It is just terrible, isn’t it, boys ? ” asked a voice be- 
hind them, and they turned around to see Mr. Carleton. 
“ I don’t think I ever saw a fire that seemed so greedy, so 
eager to devour everything before it as this,” he con- 
tinued ; “ were you going down nearer ? ” 

“ Yes, sir,” replied both lads, and they accompanied him 
down the hill, Edward meanwhile explaining how Eay 
had discovered the fire, and given the alarm. 

“ There can be little doubt that the fire is an incendiary 
one, and probably was instigated by the strikers,” Mr. 
Carleton remarked. “ When will men learn that they 
cannot make wrong right, nor help on their own interest 
by violence? The loss is going to be a terrible one.” 
Then, more softly, as though to himself, “ I wonder if 
even this wrath of man shall praise him ? ” 

They found on reaching the foot of the hill that ropes 
had been stretched across every street leading up to the 
burning mills, and that policemen were holding the vast 
crowd back from a nearer approach ; so they stood there 
for some time watching the firemen as they heroically 
fought back the advancing flames, until a sudden and 
providential change of the wind revealed that the tene- 
ment houses would all be saved. 


214 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


Mr. Bacon found them here, and questioned Ray more 
particularly as to his discovering the fire. The lad told his 
story freely, omitting only that he knew who the incen- 
diaries were; and when he had finished, Mr. Bacon 
asked ; 

/‘You saw nothing of Jones, our watchman, then, and 
he in no way gave the alarm ? ” 

“ No, sir,” replied Ray ; “ and I didn’t even think of 
him until Edward spoke of it. It is strange.” 

“ It is, indeed,” said Mr. Bacon. “ I got the firemen 
to look around the mill yard, but they could find no 
traces of him. I fear he has perished in the flames.” 

“ There’s a light in his house up yonder on the hill — 
shan’t I go up there and see if he’s there ? ” asked a small 
boy who stood by. 

“ Yes, if you will,” assented Mr. Bacon, glancing off 
toward the house. 

Mr. Jones, the watchman of the mills, was a stout, 
honest fellow, who lived all alone in a cabin half way up 
one of the hillsides. It was a singular circumstance, if he 
was not at the house, that a light should be there, and for 
this reason Mr. Bacon had thought it best that the boy 
should go. 

The youngster darted away toward the cabin, but ten 
minutes later came back with big, staring eyes, declaring 
that Mr. Jones was there, but was bound to his bed, and 
couldn’t move hand or foot, or speak a single word. 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


215 


At this startling information, Mr. Bacon, Mr. Carleton, 
Edward Lawton, Bay, and two policemen, hurried off 
toward the house. On arriving there they found the man 
bound hand and foot, a wooden gag in his mouth, and 
utterly unconscious. While the men released the unfor- 
tunate watchman, Ray and Edward started up town for 
a doctor. They went to Dr. Gasque’s office first, but the 
servant girl who answered the bell said that the doctor 
had just been summoned to Mr. Lawton’s, who was 
seriously ill. Edward, at these sad tidings, hastened 
home, while Ray continued his search for a physician. 
He finally found one, and accompanied him back to Mr. 
Jones’ house. The doctor administered restoratives, and 
after a half-hour the man regained consciousness, and a 
little later could tell his story. 

While doing his chores, preparatory to his departure 
for the mill, he had been suddenly seized from behind 
and dragged down to the ground. He was then bound 
and gagged, as he had been found, and carried into the 
house and laid upon his bed. He had not recognized 
any of his assailants, and soon sank into the state of 
unconsciousness from which he had just been aroused. 

Mr. Bacon and Ray left the house together. Finding 
on their arrival at the Forge that the fire was under com- 
plete control, they continued their way up town. As 
they went along toward the village, Mr. Bacon remarked ; 

“ The watchman’s condition, and your finding the wire 


216 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


of the alarm box severed, Ray, shows that there was an 
organized plan to burn the mills. Of course, we know 
the strikers are at the bottom of the disaster, but we must, 
if possible, ascertain who the real perpetrators were that 
they may be punished. The Black Forge Mills corpor- 
ation is ruined beyond recovery. When the strike 
occurred in July, more than half the insurance companies 
canceled their policies ; quite a number of the other poli- 
cies have expired since then, and the companies would 
not renew them under the existing circumstances. I be- 
lieve, as an actual fact, only two policies of five thousand 
each were still in force, and we may have trouble to col- 
lect even them. So, you see, the fire to-night gives no 
possible hope of the mills being rebuilt by the present 
company. Some of our stockholders will by this fire lose 
every dollar they possessed.’’ 

They had now reached the corner of Prospect Avenue, 
and Mr. Bacon turned to go up to his home. Just then 
a man came rapidly toward him. 

“ Mr. Bacon,” he said, “ Mr. Lawton is dead, and the 
family would like to have you come to the house at 
once.” 

“ Mr. Lawton dead ! ” exclaimed Mr. Bacon and Ray 
together. 

“Yes,” replied the man. “You know he has long 
been troubled with the heart disease, and had been quite 
unwell all the evening. When he was told of the fire. 


THE BLACK FOBGE MILLS. 


217 


he got up and went with his wife and daughter to the 
west windows of the house and watched the flames for 
some time. All at once he said to his wife : ‘ There are 
only two policies in force on the mills, Ida, and the com- 
pany is ruined.’ And then he sank unconscious upon 
the floor. His wife and daughter got him back to his 
room, and sent for Dr. Gasque, but before the doctor 
arrived he was dead. ‘ Heart disease and over excitement,’ 
the doctor says it was, and the family have sent me to find 
you. I just came from your house, and, as your family 
know I’m looking for you, you may as well go right on 
to Mr. Lawton’s.” 

“ Certainly,” replied Mr. Bacon. And he went ofi* with 
the man to the bereaved household, while Eay got his 
horse and drove ofi* to Long Point Farm. 

He arrived there just at dawn, worn out with his 
strenuous exertions, worried at the terrible loss of the 
mills and the consequences it involved, and sorrowful for 
the sad calamity that had befallen the Lawton family. 
But this was not all the burden he carried. Greater 
than they all, and involving a greater responsibility so 
far as he was concerned, was the crushing secret buried 
deep in his own bosom. He also knew who it was that 
had set fire to the Black Forge Mills, and a single word 
from him would bring upon the perpetrators of the 
outrage the justice which they so richly deserved. 


CHAPTER XVI. 


WHAT IS DUTY? 

R ay now entered into a struggle with himself — a 
struggle so long and so bitter that it well-nigh 
overwhelmed him. His reason and his conscience were 
arrayed against his pride and his heart, and for a long 
time it was extremely doubtful which would be victor- 
ious. Not that Ray realized this to be the actual condi- 
tion of things just then. No; he was honest when he 
thought that his struggle was over the question : What 
is duty? 

But he could have easily known what duty was had 
he only allowed himself to use his sanctified common 
sense ; but he so wanted duty to lie in just the opposite 
direction from w^hat it really did lie, that he very readily 
made himself think there might be some question about 
it ; and thus he entered into a struggle that tried his 
faith, destroyed his peace of soul, and surrounded him 
with a darkness blacker than night. He never could 
recall that spiritual experience without a shudder. He 
came so near grieving the Spirit and dishonoring the 
Master’s name. 

He knew that the men who had set fire to the Black 
218 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


219 


Forge Mills, no matter who they were, should he pun- 
ished for their crime. He knew that to know who the 
guilty parties were, and then to refuse to disclose that 
knowledge, made him in the eyes of the law an accessory 
after the fact. He knew that to allow the criminals to 
go unpunished was really to countenance their deed. At 
least, had he allowed himself to prayerfully reason the 
matter out, he would have known all this. 

But one of those criminals was his own father, and to 
him it seemed to make a vast difference in the case, or, 
at least, he wanted it to. He would not have hesitated a 
moment to disclose who the guilty men were, had not his 
father been one of the number. Duty would have been 
very plain then, and he would have at once admitted 
that it would be absolutely wrong to shield the incendi- 
aries from the punishment they so richly deserved. But 
his own father! His heart rebelled against disclosing a 
single thing that would sliow his own parent to be a 
criminal in the eyes of the law. No matter if that father 
had willfully made himself a criminal, how could he, the 
son, disclose the fact ? What little love and respect he 
still had in his heart for that father made him unwilling 
to do what seemed so terrible a thing. 

Then, too, a little pride had, unconsciously perhaps, 
come into his heart, and influenced him greatly in his 
trying to believe that his duty might be to keep silent. 
He did so want the Branford name redeemed from the 


220 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


evil reputation that had gathered about it. George and his 
sisters, as well as he himself, were now all trying to live 
honest, upright lives. This was a great deal. But there 
were two other brothers who were fugitives from justice ; 
how could he add a third name, and that his father’s, to 
the criminal list ? He could not reveal the names of the 
other incendiaries without his father’s becoming known. 
Was it not, then, duty for him to hide his shameful secret 
so deep in his own breast that it should never be dis- 
covered by other eyes ? 

We can understand his position, and sympathize with 
him. We can see how he could easily persuade himself 
that this might be his duty. But an earnest desire to 
get at the real truth, leads us to ask — was it his duty, 
after all? I am very anxious that we should all have 
clear ideas of what one’s real duty is in a case like this ; 
for there is so much condoning of crime in this our day, 
and so much covering up of sin, even by those who call 
themselves Christians, that it is time God’s real children 
should pause, and ask themselves, prayerfully and 
earnestly, whether they have a right to shield any crime, 
or excuse any sin, simply because the guilty party hap- 
pens to be one whom they have loved, and one whom 
they cannot bear to have branded guilty. Sooner or 
later all condoning of evil, and all concealment of crime 
will return in accumulated measure upon our own heads. 
The principle is wrong ; the results must be evil. God 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


221 


himself never condones sin. He forgives on true repent- 
ance ; he never condones. Let us ever remember it is 
never right to condone sin. By so doing we shall destroy 
our religious peace, and may surround ourselves with a 
spiritual darkness in which there is no light. 

Kay saw this later on, and understood why it was that 
he found so little enjoyment in his religious life ; why the 
prayer room brought him so little comfort, and even the 
reading of God’s word had not its usual delight. For 
the present, however, he hid his secret in his bosom, and 
tried to persuade himself that he was doing his whole 
duty. The old question, however, was ever reasserting 
itself. When it seemed most settled, it had a strange 
way of suddenly reappearing in some new and startling 
form. 

For example, a week or two after the fire a circum- 
stance happened that lulled Ray’s conscience into a perfect 
repose for a while. Hyde, the leader of the strikers, was 
arrested, charged with the crime of firing the mills. 
Ever since they were burned, an expert detective had 
been quietly working up the case, and had found evi- 
dence enough it was said, to warrant the arrest of Hyde. 
Kay now thought his whole trouble was over. 

His complacency was destined to be rudely shaken, 
however. Hyde waived an examination in the lower 
court, and was remanded to jail to await the action of 
the grand jury in November. Ray met Mr. Bacon 


222 THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 

about this time, and ventured to ask him what he 
thought of Hyde’s arrest, and the prospects of finding the 
other criminals. 

“ There is little hope of accomplishing anything by his 
arrest,” Mr. Bacon had replied. “ It is even doubtful 
whether with our present evidence we can convict him. 
He is a hardened fellow, and will never reveal his 
companions in crime, even if he is himself convicted. 
I have been informed that he has secured one of the 
best criminal lawyers in the country. And I should 
not be surprised if he were acquitted, unless we dis- 
cover new facts.” And Mr. Bacon, with a deep sigh, 
walked on. 

Kay looked after him a few minutes, almost tempted to 
follow, and disclose what he knew. But he again re- 
sisted the impulse, and with a sore heart went sadly 
down the street. 

Stopping at the post office for Mr. Woodhull’s mail, 
Ray was surprised that a letter for himself was handed 
out with the rest. He seldom got a letter, and this bore 
the postmark of a large city, a hundred miles away. 
Who there could have written to him? There was 
nothing on the envelope to give him the desired infor- 
mation, and so he hastily tore it open. There was an 
ordinary sheet of note paper inside without printed 
heading of any kind. On the sheet, however, these 
few lines were scrawled : 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


223 


Mr. Rat Branford, 


W , Oct. 30, 18—. 


Dear Sir : Will you come to my office in 
this city, on Thursday, Nov. 4th, at 10 o’clock? There is an im- 
portant matter upon which I wish to consult you. 

Yours truly, 

James R. Gregory, 

27 Powell St., Room 3. Attorney and Counsellor -at- Law. 


Kay puzzled over this letter. He showed it to Mr. 
Woodhull. No explanation of its meaning occurred to 
either one, but on the morning of November 4th, Ray 
took the first train for the designated city. 

He arrived there about half-past nine o’clock, and used 
the next half hour in looking for the specified street and 
number. He reached the desired block just as the 
clock in the neighboring tower struck ten, and though 
no lawyer’s sign was over the door, he went up the nar- 
row stairway, and alon^ to Room 3. At his knock a 
voice promptly responded, “ Come in.” 

Opening the door, he entered a large room, evidently 
only temporarily occupied, for its sole furniture was a 
small table and three chairs. At this table sat two men, 
one large and stout and smooth-faced ; the other small, 
and almost a fop in his dress, with a pair of enormous 
glasses over his sharp, piercing eyes. 

“ Good-morning, gentlemen,” said Ray, advancing 
toward them. 

“Good-morning,” they both responded, pleasantly. 


224 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


while the little man arose and placed the vacant chair 
for Ray to occupy. 

“Mr. Ray Branford, I presume?” he then said. 

“Yes, sir,” replied Ray. 

“ I am Mr. Gregory, who wrote to you, asking you to 
honor us with your presence,” the little gentleman went 
on, “ and this is my friend, Mr. John Wilson.” 

Mr. Wilson arose and shook hands heartily with Ray, 
saying, “ I am very glad to see you, sir.” 

Completely mystified by the marked cordiality of both 
men, who were entire strangers to him, Ray took the 
offered chair, remarking: 

“I believe you had some matter you wished to talk 
over with me.” 

“ Certainly, certainly,” replied Mr. Gregory. And then 
he manifested a lawyer’s piroclivity, by begini^ng such a 
series of questions as to well-nigh take away Ray’s 
breath. 

He commenced by asking Ray where he had been 
living two years before, and then followed along until he 
had a very fair idea of the boy’s history during that 
period. He seemed satisfied with Ray’s answers, as 
though they were just what he had expected. Then he 
suddenly asked: 

“You have formed the very laudable purpose of en- 
tering some academy this fall, and securing an education, 
had you not, Mr. Branford ? ” 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


225 


“ Yes, sir ; I had thought of it,’’ admitted the aston- 
ished lad. 

“May I ask if you have the means for carrying out 
this proposed course of study? I ask as a friend,” he 
added. 

Ray could not understand the man’s purpose in asking 
such a question, — nor, in fact, any of the questions he had 
so far asked, — but he had no real objection to telling him 
just how he was situated, so he replied ; 

“I did have enough saved to defray my expenses for a 
year at school, and was intending to have entered some 
academy last September ; but owing to some unexpected 
expenses, I had to delay my going for a time. Perhaps 
I shall not be able to go until another year.” And he 
ga ve a deeg sigh, for no one but himself knew how hard 
it had been’ for him to give up his pet scheme. 

“I suppose you would be very glad to earn money 
enough to enter school, say this coming winter term, and 
pursue those studies through without interruption to a 
full graduation ? ” Mr. Gregory now asked. 

“ I rather guess I would, if I could do it honestly,” 
answered Ray, his eyes brightening at the very thought. 

The two men looked at each other significantly a 
moment. Then Mr. Wilson arose and went to the door’ 
of the room. Opening it, he looked up and down the 
hall, listening intently. Satisfied at last with his exam- 
ination, he closed and locked the door, and came back to 
p 


226 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


his chair. Both gentlemen now drew their chairs a little 
closer to Ray’s, while Mr. Gregory asked, with a peculiar 
emphasis upon his words : 

“Mr. Branford, where were you on the night the 
Black Forge Mills were burned?” 

Ray gave a great start. How much did these men 
know of that night’s work? What was their purpose in 
asking? He finally answered, though with manifest 
hesitation : 

“ I was there at Black Forge.” 

“Were you not the very first to discover that fire?” 
Mr. Gregory asked, a little sharply. 

“Yes, sir,” replied Ray. 

The lawyer fastened those piercing eyes upon the lad, 
and inquired slowly and distinctly : 

“Have you any objection to telling us where you were 
when you first saw the fire, and where you immediately 
went upon discovering it?” 

Ray colored a little, but otherwise was perfectly calm, 
as he answered: 

“ I at present see no reason why I should tell you.” 

The lawyer smiled and changed his tactics. 

“Mr. Branford,” he said, “let us understand each 
other. I ask these questions, not in the interest of the 
prosecution, but in the interest of the defense, at the 
coming trial. Mr. Hyde is my client, and it is at his re- 
quest I have sent for you. You will, of course, be sum- 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


227 ' 


moned by the prosecution, and we have reason to believe 
that you mig^ht prove a very damaging witness, in case 
you told all you know about the Black Eorge fire. We 
respect the motives that have so far kept you silent con- 
cerning what you do know; we simply ask, is it your 
intention to make a full revelation on the witness stand, 
or will you preserve the same reticence that has charac- 
terized you ever since the fire?” 

This was certainly coming directly to the point. Ray 
had no doubt now why he had been sent for, nor regard- 
ing Mr. Gregory’s meaning. But he did not immediately 
answer. He was thinking — thinking more clearly than 
he had at any time since his lamentable discovery. He 
had not thought before of his being called as a witness, but 
he saw plainly now that such would be the case. He had 
been the first to report the fire, and his testimony on that 
point would be desired at the least. How could he under 
oath avoid telling the whole truth ? If honest, would he 
not there have to declare what he really knew? He did 
not, however, care to commit himself either way just yet, 
BO he replied : 

“ I have not admitted yet, Mr. Gregory, that I know 
any more about the fire than I have already made 
known. But suppose I do continue to maintain the same 
position I have so far occupied, what then ? ” 

His answer seemed to give his questioner much satis- 
faction, for he nodded his head toward his companion in 


228 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


a way that seemed to indicate “We are not mistaken in 
our man.” Then he continued : 

“ I see, Mr. Branford, I must be even more explicit 
with you. But I expected it from what I have heard of 
you. In brief, then, and coming directly to my point, 
Mr. Hyde has every reason to believe that it was you 
who so pluckily grappled with him, as he jumped down 
from the mill fence on the night of the fire. He believes 
also that you know who his companions were, and that 
there is a special reason why you have in no way 
betrayed him, or them, since your discovery. Now, since 
you have had a reason of your own for keeping this 
knowledge to yourself so long, doubtless you will have a 
reason to still maintain your reticence. So we are asking 
you to do nothing that you have not already done, Mr. 
Branford ; probably nothing but that you still propose to 
do. We only say we are much interested in you ; we 
think so able a young fellow as you have shown yourself 
to be should have the education he so much desires ; and 
as a token of our good will merely, we propose to pre- 
sent you with a thousand dollars in cash, when you give 
us the assurance that you will not remember on the witness 
stand that you saw either of those four men on the night 
of the fire. My friend, Mr. Wilson, has the money with 
him now, and wil) hand it over to you as soon as you give 
us this promise. You understand me, I trust, Mr. Bran- 
ford.” 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


229 


These words were very persuasively and smilingly 
uttered. And to make the temptation as great as pos- 
sible, Mr. Wilson took out his pocketbook, and counting 
ten one hundred dollar bills, laid them on the table in 
easy reach of the lad. “ Just your promise, Mr. Bran- 
ford, that you will throughout the trial maintain the 
position you have steadily held since the fire, and you 
may put those bills into your pocket,” he said, and as 
though he felt sure of the lad’s acceptance he closed his 
pocketbook, and put it away. 

How did the temptation aflhct Ray? It opened his 
eyes to the true position he had been occupying all those 
weeks, and enabled him to see himself as he had not 
done before. It was a rude awakening. The shock was 
one that filled him with alarm. Could it be possible that 
the standpoint he had taken respecting his duty in this 
matter of the fire was one that led the criminals them- 
selves to believe he was in sympathy with them ? Had 
they really thought he could be bought with a price ? 
That he would sell his manhood, his Christian faith, 
betray his Master, for a paltry thousand dollars ? The 
blood boiled within him at the insult, and yet he re- 
strained himself. He even grew perfectly calm, and 
smiled upon them. He felt his contemptible position 
had merited just such a stinging rebuke. More than 
that, he had determined to outwit these scoundrels, and 
even before he left the city to clear his name and reputa- 


230 


THE BLACK FOBGE MILLS. 


tion from every shadow of reproach that his weeks of 
silence had brought upon it. 

“ Gentlemen,” he said, with provoking coolness, “ this 
is a remarkable offer of yours. It is one that should not 
be accepted hastily. How long are you willing to give 
me that I may think it over ? ” 

His tempters tried in every way to bring him to an 
immediate decision, but were not successful. “ Let me 
take a turn in the fresh air, and get a good dinner,” 
Ray persistently said. “ At two o’clock I will meet you 
here, and give you a decided answer.” The men finally 
yielded a reluctant consent, and Ray hastened down to 
the street. 

Glancing over at the clock tower, he saw it was five 
minutes to twelve. “ Two hours,” he said, with an air of 
relief “ A great deal can sometimes be done in two 
hours.” Then he hurried off to find a telegraph office. 


CHAPTER XVII. 


ray’s decision and its result. 

HILE in the Afton Graded School, Ray had become 



* T familiar with a code of communication among the 
scholars, wherein numerals were used for the consonants, 
and certain consonants for the vowels. He knew Edward 
Lawton was equally familiar with the code, and entering 
the telegraph office, he embodied the following message 
in the apparently meaningless symbols, and had it for- 
warded to him : 

Please translate this message and hand to Mr. Bacon. 

Have Blake, I. T. Smith, and my father arrested as accomplices 
of Hyde. There is no mistake about this. On my arrival, at eight 
o’clock to-night, I will make a full explanation. Make the arrests 
before two o’clock, or their confederates here will warn them to 
escape. Let me hear from you, if possible, before two. Direct to 
me at this office. Rat Branford. 

It cost quite a sum to send the message, but Ray paid 
the amount cheerfully, and telling the operator he would 
call for a reply, he went on to the nearest restaurant 
and got his dinner. On his return to the office half an 
hour later, he found this message awaiting him, in the 
same code that he had employed ; 


231 


232 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


Your message was received, and as Edward was not at home, I 
translated it, and carried it to Mr. Bacon. He directs me to say 
that the officers have already been sent to make the arrests, and 
he will report their success before two, if possible. 

Daisy Lawton. 

“It is a strange code you are using,” 'remarked the 
operator, inquisitively, as Kay slowly deciphered the 
message. 

“ Yes, sir,” Kay quietly admitted ; then he said : 
“ There may be another message for me before two 
o’clock. I will call for it.” 

He now left the office, and walked briskly about the 
streets, admiring the massive buildings and the other 
evidences of thrift and enterprise for which the city was 
noted. Fifteen minutes before two he returned for his 
expected message. 

“ There is none,” the operator replied ; “ but it is not 
yet two, and we may receive it any moment.” 

Kay waited five minutes, and then turned to go, saying : 

“ I have an engagement at two, so will calklater for the 
message.” 

“ Hold on,” the operator answered, “ there’s a message 
coming over the wires, and by the sound, I think it is in 
your peculiar code.” And he gave his attention to his 
indicator. A moment later he brought the message to 
Kay, who hurried up the street with it in his hand, de- 
ciphering it as he went. It read ; 






■ WW.-S? 








^1 

i||Hl 

wmm 

SjSi 

iSi 

.iii 


ip^|: 

PI 

iiiflCT 

Imlfflinitl 


Bliicic i^orge Mills. 


Page 233. 





THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


233 


Blake was found hanging around the telegraph office, and was 
immediately arrested. The officers have not yet returned from 
the Forge, hut there is little doubt that the other two will be 
secured. Bacon. 

Kay reached Powell Street, and with a feeling of 
triumph ran up the stairway in No. 27, to Room 3. 
He was a little late, and could detect a slight appearance 
of anxiety on the faces of the two men awaiting him, 
probably on account of his delay in coming. 

“Well, sir, what is your decision?” was his sharp 
greeting from Mr. Gregory, while Mr. Wilson gazed 
intently into his face, as though he would read his inmost 
thought. 

Kay did not keep them waiting long for his answer. 
Walking down the room to the chair he had occupied 
when in the room before, he laid one hand upon its back, 
and looked his tempters squarely in their faces. There 
was no show of fear in his eyes, and no tremor in his 
clear, ringing tones, as he replied : 

“ Gentlemen, I have cause to thank you for your un- 
precedented offer of this morning. I have reason to thank 
you, because it has shown me clearly and emphatically 
the position I was unconsciously occupying — the strange 
neglect of duty I had for weeks been guilty of. But let 
me assure you I have not quite reached the point that I 
am ready to sell my manhood for even one thousand dol- 
lars, great as that sum seems to me. As proof of this, 


234 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


let me tell you that I went directly from this room to a 
telegraph office, and this return telegram in my hand 
states that Blake is already under arrest, and that the 
other criminals soon would be. I can only add, at the 
trial I shall tell ‘ the truth, the whole truth, and nothing 
hut the truth.’ Good-day, gentlemen.” And before either 
of the men could make a movement to stop him, had that 
been their desire, he had turned and left the room. 

The next train for Afton did not leave the city until 
four o’clock, so Ray wandered on down the streets, with 
little thought as to just where he was going. A peace 
that had long been absent from his heart had returned ; 
his conscience, which had so long been at variance with 
his action, had now come into perfect accord. He was 
happier than he had at any time been since the night of 
the fire. Humbled by his experience, yet so sweetly con- 
scious was he of the Master’s nearness and the Master s 
forgiveness, that he could not but repeat the words of one 
of God's children, written long before ; words that thous- 
ands of humbled and penitent hearts have found so ex- 
actly suited, each to his own individual case: “Have 
mercy upon me, O Lord, according to thy loving kind- 
ness ; . . . Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation, and 
uphold me with thy free spirit. Then will I teach trans- 
gressors thy ways ; and sinners shall be converted unto 
thee.” 

So busy was Ray with his own thoughts, that he did 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


235 


not notice that he had wandered beyond the limits of the 
city proper, and was now in one of its growing suburbs. 
He was aroused from his pre-occupied condition by sud- 
denly finding himself face to face with a number of large 
and magnificent buildings, surrounded by extensive 
lawns, upon which were long rows of tall and stately 
elms. 

An old white-haired gentleman stood by the fence that 
shut off the lawn from the street, and Ray, stopping, 
asked him what buildings they were. The old man 
turned slowly around and looked curiously at the lad. 

“ They are the university buildings,” he slowly replied ; 
“ and, my lad, sixty years ago, when I was scarcely older 
than you, I entered them as a student. There have been 
great changes since then. The college has prospered. New 
buildings have been erected and the campus has been 
beautified — but, ah ! those were delightful days ! I hope, 
my lad, you love to study, and may one day graduate 
from this honored institution of learning.” 

“ I cannot tell you, sir,” replied Ray, “ how I hope for 
that very thing myself ; but God alone knows whether I 
shall be able to do it.” 

“May he lead you on to a full realization of your 
hopes,” responded the old gentleman, solemnly. “ Here 
is my card, and if I can ever be of any service to you, 
let me know. May I ask your name in return ? ” 

“Ray Branford,” re^^lied the lad looking at the card 


236 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


laid in his own hand. It was a plain card, with simply 
the name, Charles T. Swinburne, upon it. But Ray knew 
who he was, and looked almost reverently up into his 
face. The name of that old gentleman was known in 
every household of that State, in many a household 
throughout the land. As scholar, as philanthropist, as a 
worker in every true and holy cause, was he known ; his 
voice had ever been raised, his purse had ever been open, 
on behalf of the lowly and oppressed. Even now, in his 
ripe old age, it was no light influence for good he was 
still wielding. 

“ I have heard my pastor, Mr. Carleton, of the First 
Church, Afton, speak of you,” Ray ventured to say; 
“ and I thank you for the kind and encouraging words 
you have spoken to me to-day.” 

“I know Ralph Carleton,” answered the old man, 
heartily. “I knew his father before him. You may 
safely listen to his counsel, for he speaks as moved by the 
Spirit of God. When you return home, tell him you 
have met me, and that I say : ‘ God be with thee.’ ” 

Bidding Mr. Swinburne good-bye, Ray now hurried 
ofl* toward the city, knowing he barely had time to catch 
his train. But the slight circumstance of that meeting 
was, as he found in later years, one of God’s links welded 
into the providential chain that was drawing him on to 
his life’s work. 

The train arrived at Afton soon after eight, and Ray, 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


237 


as he stepped out on to the platform, found Mr. Bacon, 
Mr. Carleton, and Mr. Woodhull waiting for him. Mr. 
Woodhull had come up from the farm to meet an earlier 
train, on which he had expected Kay. As the lad did 
not come on that, however, he had delayed his return 
home until the arrival of the eight o’clock train. At the 
depot he had met Mr. Bacon and Mr. Carleton, and they 
told him of Ray’s telegram, though none understood the 
cause of his delay, nor just what he would have to reveal. 

Ray’s first question, as he shook hands with his three 
friends, was : “ Have the two other men been found ? ” 

“ Yes,” replied Mr. Bacon ; “ all three are now in the 
lockup, and we have been anxiously awaiting your com- 
ing. Would you prefer to see me alone, or shall Mr. 
Carleton and Mr. Woodhull go with us? ” 

“ I prefer to have all of you present as I tell my story,” 
said Ray, gravely. “ Let us go to some place where we 
may be undisturbed. It is a long and a strange experi- 
ence I have to relate.” 

“ We might go up to Dr. Casque’s office,” suggested 
Mr. Carleton. 

They soon reached the office, and Ray, sparing not 
himself at all, began with the night of the fire, and told 
of his discovery, of his false notion of duty, and of his 
strange interview with the two men in the city, and how 
he had outwitted them. 

Mr. Carleton was the first to speak after he had fin- 


238 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


ished. “Your mistake, Ray,” he said, “was perhaps a 
natural one ; it certainly was one many an older person 
might have made. But you can now see that, after all, 
it was a course of deception. You were living a lie ; for 
you were saying by your silence that you did not know 
who the criminals were.” 

“Those men must fear your testimony greatly, Ray, 
to offer you such an inducement to preserve silence,” 
remarked Mr. Woodhull. “You say their names were 
Wilson and Gregory? I thought Hyde’s lawyer was 
named Sanford.” 

“ Oh, these men were acting for Sanford,” replied Mr. 
Bacon. “ Wilson is probably some friend of Hyde’s, 
and Gregory is some lawyer employed for this work. 
It isn’t likely that either of the men gave his right name, 
and that room was one they had just hired for this inter- 
view. They intended to cover up their own tracks 
whether they succeeded or failed in their attempted bri- 
bery. Blake knew of that meeting, for all the forenoon 
and up to the time of his arrest he was around the depot, 
and he told the operator if any message came for him he 
should be within call. Those fellows intended to tele- 
graph him if they could not buy Ray into silence. He 
got the better of them by telegraphing first. I have been 
thinking, Ray, whether your father would not be willing 
to turn state’s evidence, and go on the stand as a witness 
against the others. What do you think ? ” 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


239 


Ray gave him a grateful look, as he replied : 

“ I don’t know, sir. I cannot help feeling that father 
was forced into this thing, or led into it while under the 
influence of liquor. When sober, he is usually ready to 
do the fair thing ; it certainly can do no harm to make 
him the ofier. I want to see him, and tell him just how 
I came to do as I have done. So, if Mr. Woodhull is 
willing, I will come up to the village to-morrow, and we 
will go and see him.” 

Mr. Woodhull readily assented, and then Ray and he 
drove off home. The next day the lad returned to the 
village, and, in company with Mr. Bacon, he visited the 
jail. They found Mr. Branford sober, but sullen ; and 
at first he paid little attention to Ray’s story. As the boy 
went on, however, to describe his encounter with Hyde, 
on the night of the fire, his father manifested some inter- 
est ; and before he had got through with the account of 
his own struggle to believe it was right to shield his father 
in his crime, and the story of his interview with the two 
men in the city which had so plainly revealed his duty 
to him, the old man broke down. Great tears streamed 
down his cheeks, and as soon as he could control himself, 
he said : 

“Did they think, Ray, they could bribe you with 
money to do their dirty work ? I could have told them 
better than that ; but I knew nothing of this undertaking. 
Don’t think I hold anything against you, lad, for causing 


240 


THE BI.ACK FORGE MILLS. 


my arrest. I’ve been tempted to give myself up a half 
dozen times since the fire. Perhaps a few years in jail 
will make a man of me — for it will keep me sober. It’s 
my only hope of salvation, anyway; and, Ray, you’ll 
sometimes come to see me; and you’ll never forget to 
pray for your old father.” 

“ Never ! ” replied Ray, emphatically. “ And perhaps, 
father, this is God’s way of bringing you to himself. I 
have prayed for you, night and day, ever since I gave 
myself to him. I couldn’t bear that you should be sent 
to prison ; for I thought it would so harden you, that you 
would never come to Jesus. But God's ways are not as 
our ways; and it may be God’s hand is leading you 
where you will think more of him, and learn to love 
him.” 

The old man bowed his head on his hands and wept 
like a child, and said : 

“ Don’t think, Ray, that I haven't been pleased with 
the change you and George and the girls have made in 
your lives. I’ve been proud of you all, and down in my 
heart I’ve longed for the same thing. But I thought 
there was no hope for an old sinner like me.” 

‘ Wherefore he is able also to save them to the utter- 
most that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth 
to make intercession for them,’ ” repeated Ray, softly. 

“ Perhaps there is hope for me, after all,” murmured 
the repentant man. 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


241 


Mr. Bacon ventured now to suggest his plan to Mr. 
Branford, and assured him that the directors of the mill 
would willingly allow him to take the witness stand 
against his companions in crime. 

“ I shall tell the whole truth,” replied he, slowly, “ but 
I ask no favors on that account. I am willing to take 
the punishment I deserve. I am more afraid of myself 
and my appetite for rum, than all other things beside. 
Please allow me to go to prison,” he begged, piteously ; 
“ for then there may be some hopes for me.” 

Hyde was the only one of the four criminals who actu- 
ally stood trial. He was convicted through the united 
testimony of Mr. Branford, Ray, and the detective who 
had caused his arrest. Blake, Smith, and Mr. Branford, 
all pleaded guilty. As in Hyde's trial it had been shown 
that he and Blake were the instigators and leaders in the 
work of burning the mills, each of them received a sen- 
tence of five years. Smith and Mr. Branford were given 
three and two years respectively. Mr. Branford, sober, 
neatly dressed, and cleanly shaved,- received his sentence 
almost with joy on his face. “ You might have made it 
longer, judge,” he said, with a bow. “Perhaps it will be 
the making of me. I feel that it will.” 

George and Ray had stood by him to the last, and ac- 
companied him to the prison gates. There they bade 
him good-bye, promising to write often, and to come oc- 
casionally to see him. “ We shall, every evening, at nine 
Q 


242 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


o^clock, wherever we are, pray for you,” Ray said, in 
parting ; “ and here is my Bible, father, with many pas- 
sages I have found precious marked in it. Promise me 
you will read it, and that you will try and pray for 
yourself.” 

“ I will, Ray, and I thank you for the book. Nor shall 
I forget the time you are praying for me. Don’t feel bad 
about my going into these walls. I tell you, God knows 
what’s best for a man. I really feel there is some hopes 
of my reaching heaven. How tickled your ma will be 
to see me there!” And, brushing the tears from his 
eyes, he turned and walked firmly within the massive 
gates, which closed upon him for two long years. 

Ray and George were at church together the next 
Sunday. Mr. Bacon came to them at the close of the 
service, and said : 

“ Can you both call at my house to-morrow evening ? 
I have something I want to tell you.” 

So the next evening the brothers went up to Mr. 
Bacon’s house. That gentleman received them in his 
library, and at once proceeded to business. 

“ You both know,” he said, “ how there was but little 
insurance on the mills, and that the company was ruined 
when they were burned. Mr. Lawton was the heaviest 
loser, and so great was his loss that Mrs. Lawton will be 
obliged to sell her mansion. She has a small cottage of 
her own, and hopes to save enough out of the estate to 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


243 


support her and the two children until Edward is able to 
work for them. I did not have so much invested in the 
mills, and so have not lost as heavily. Last week I 
bought a small mill, employing about fifty hands, in the 
village of AYenton, about twenty miles down the railroad. 
I want a good, honest fellow to go down there as my 
superintendent and general overseer, though I shall be 
dowm there nearly every day. AYhat do you think, 
George ; would you be willing to go down there for me ? ” 

“Do you think I would do?” asked George, in sup- 
pressed excitement. “ I would try very hard to suit you.” 

“ I don’t doubt it, George. You are honest, and that 
is the main thing. All the rest, with my shewing, you 
can easily learn,” replied Mr. Bacon, heartily. “I have 
a nice house down there for you, and will give you, for 
the present, two dollars a day. You may take your 
sisters down too, and we’ll find work for them.” 

“How can I thank you, sir?” George answered, 
turning first red, and then pale, with his intense emotion. 

“ By doing your best,” replied Mr. Bacon. Then he 
turned to Ray. “ I was also going to tell you something 
this evening, Ray, that I supposed I had the right to,” 
he said, “ but Mr. Carleton has convinced me that it is 
his own exclusive privilege ; so, really, I shall have to 
refer you to him.” And he rather enjoyed Ray’s puzzled 
looks. , 

As the brothers walked down the street on their way 


244 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


home, for Kay was going back to the Forge that night, 
George said : 

‘‘ Here for a few weeks I have been distrusting God 
again, and see just what he has done for me, Ray. I 
will doubt him no more. I was going to worry over 
getting down to Wen ton, but I won’t even do that. God 
will provide a way.”' 

“He has already,” replied Ray, with a smile, “for I 
have enough money left of what I had saved to take 
you all down there, and start you off in your new home 
in good shape. I am so glad for you, George.” 

“Have you given up the academy? ” asked George, 
anxiously. 

“ No ; a thousand times no ! ” replied Ray. “ But God 
will open the way when it is right for me to go. Perhaps, 
for my neglect of duty, he wishes me to wait awhile. I 
shall work on, abiding his own time. You can have the 
money as well as not.” 

“I will accept it as a loan,” George replied. “I have 
so regarded all the money you have given me, Ray, and 
you shall have it, principal and interest, as soon as I can 
save it.” ♦ 

“ Perhaps it will be along by the time I am ready for 
the academy, then,” replied Ray, with a good-natured 
laugh. “Just as though every cent of the money didn’t 
belong to you.” ^ 

He was to go to the academy, however, and even 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


245 


sooner than he thought. Already had God opened the 
way. 

The next Friday evening Ray was in his accustomed 
place in the prayer room. His voice had the old, positive 
ring in it, as he arose and testified for Jesus. The subject 
for the evening had been based upon the words: “I am 
the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known 
of mine.” Taking up the thought of this verse, Ray 
said : 

“ I can testify to-night that these words are true. The 
result of my recent trying experience is this — I never 
knew Jesus as I know him now. I never loved him as I 
love him now. I never realized what it was to hold 
near and intimate relationship with him as I realize now. 
Because I did not, in the hour of my great temptation, 
wholly deny his name, he has drawn closer to me, and 
our relations have become so sweet and tender, that I 
can hear him say, not only: ‘Fear not, for I have re- 
deemed thee,’ but he adds, ‘I have called thee by thy 

) yy 


name. 


CHAPTER XVIII. 


CLINTON ACADEMY. 


T the close of the service, Mr. Carleton came around 



-TIl where Ray was talking with Edward Lawton and 
his sister Daisy, and remarked, as he laid his hand on 
the boy’s shoulder: 

“We were glad to hear your testimony to-night, Ray. 
We cannot help believing with you, that the Master is 
strangely but surely leading you along Hhe way of 
holiness.’ God grant it may be so. But come — you are 
to go home with me to-night.” 

“I would like to do so, ever so much,” replied Ray, 
giving his pastor a look in which love and confidence 
and pleasure were all mingled; “but Mr. Woodhull will 
expect me home, and I have been absent from the farm 
so much lately. I think I shall have to decline your 
invitation this time.” 

“ Mr. Woodhull will not expect you to-night,” answered 
Mr. Carleton, with a mischievous look at Edward and 
Daisy, “ for I told him some time ago I should keep you 
with me to-night. There is an important matter I wish 
to talk over with you. So get your horse and wagon, 
and Mrs. Carleton and I will ride up to the parsonage 
with you.” 


246 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


247 


Whatever the important matter was, Edward and 
Daisy evidently were not ignorant of it, for they both 
laughed, and seemed, for some reason, to be greatly 
pleased. 

“ Yes, Ray,” Edward added, looking over to Mr. 
Carleton, who had turned to speak with Mrs. Lawton, 
“ and before you leave for Long Point farm in the morn- 
ing, remember that you are to come around and talk that 
same important matter over with me.” 

Mr. Carleton shook his finger at Edward, who immedi- 
ately relapsed into silence. Daisy, however, her eyes 
fairly sparkling with some unknown joy, added: “ We 
shall certainly expect you, Ray.” And then she turned 
and walked ofl* home with her mother and Edward. 

Ray, completely mystified by these allusions, and sud- 
denly recalling Mr. Bacon’s words on the Monday eve- 
ning before, went off* to the shed for his horse and wagon, 
wondering what “ important thing” was in store for him, 
which seemed to give all the others so much joy. 

But he did not long remain in ignorance of it, for as 
soon as the horse had been cared for, and he and Mr. 
and Mrs. Carleton were comfortably seated about the 
fire in the cosy sitting room at the parsonage, Mr. Carleton 
asked : 

“ You have heard of the Clinton Academy, at Easton, 
Ray?” 

Hadn’t he? Wasn’t that the very school he had 


248 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


desired to attend, but bad never expected to have the 
desire realized, even when saving up his money, for the 
expense had seemed to be entirely beyond his reach ? 
Was it not there that both Mr. Greenough and Mr. 
Carleton had prepared for college ? Hadn’t Mr. Phillips, 
the principal of the school, and a college classmate of 
Mr. Carleton, visited Afton only the summer before, and 
hadn’t he seen him and talked with him? He had a 
catalogue of that very academy, moreover, that the 
principal had sent him the September before, and what a 
struggle it had been for him to give up the idea of 
entering it then, no one but God and himself would 
ever know. With glistening eyes, and with a great hope 
coming into his heart that the “ important matter ” 
spoken of might have something to do with his attending 
that school, Ray therefore replied : 

“ Yes, sir ; you know I met Mr. Phillips, the principal, 
when he visited you, and on his return home, he sent' me 
a catalogue of the institution.” 

Mr. Carleton assented, in a way that seemed to imply, 
“ Oh, yes, I knew all about it before ; ” then he continued : 

“Well, do you remember Mr. Swinburne, the old, 
white-haired gentleman whom you met and talked with 
at the university grounds, when you were in the city ? ” 

“ Yes, sir,” replied Ray, almost breathlessly now. 

“ I got a letter from him,” Mr. Carleton explained, 
“ only a few days after you met him, making inquiries 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


249 


about you. I thought it best not only to tell him your 
history, but also to give him an account of your manly 
resistance to a great temptation there that day. I soon 
received a letter in answer to mine. In it he stated that 
a number of years ago he established several scholarships 
at Clinton Academy, and had reserved the right so long 
as he should live to name the young men who should 
receive the income from them. This income is sufficient 
to pay the tuition and the room rent at the academy, 
and leaves only the board and incidentals to be met by 
the student himself. He closed his letter by saying one 
of the scholarships became vacant at the close of the last 
academic year, and has not as yet been assigned to any 
one, and he should be glad to name you for it. I took 
the liberty to request him to do so. Your entire expenses 
outside of what this scholarship provides for cannot 
amount to over one hundred and fifty dollars for the 
yeaf. There will be many ways for you to help yourself 
during the school term, as well as in the vacations. 
Friends here in Afton stand ready to help where your 
own exertions fail to supply the necessary funds ; so really 
I think you may begin your academic course there 
immediately after Thanksgiving.” 

“ But you know I have lost one term ; could I enter 
now and go on with the class ? ” asked Kay, anxiously. 

“ We thought of all that,” replied Mr. Carleton, “ and 
that is why we have not spoken to you about this before. 


250 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


We waited until Mr. Greenough wrote to Mr. Phillips as 
to the outlook for you to enter the winter term. He 
gave Mr. Phillips a list of the studies you had completed, 
and he replied that you could very readily enter and 
go on with the present freshman class, some of your 
studies being even in advance of the first term there at 
the academy, while none are behind it. There is then 
no objection on that score. The main question is, are you 
ready to undertake it ? ’’ 

“ Just one thing more, Mr. Carleton,’* Ray said, with 
evident embarrassment ; “ there is nothing unmanly in 
my accepting this aid ? ” 

“ I had expected that question, foolish as it is,” replied 
Mr. Carleton, with a laugh. “ If it is unmanly, then I 
was unmanly, for I went through Clinton Academy on 
one of those very scholarships. But, seriously, where is 
it unmanly ? You can go through the academy working 
your own way without doubt. But you will have to stay 
out some in order to earn the necessary funds. This 
interrupts your studies, and compels you, we will say, to 
be six years in getting what otherwise you would have 
gotten in four. Which is wiser, to lose those two years, 
or accept the slight aid that will bring you along two years 
sooner to your life’s work ? The town or State, one or both, 
must maintain our common schools ; our colleges and 
academies exist only because some friends have liberally 
endowed them. There is no part of the education that 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


251 


comes to us that has not been secured at less cost because 
of the help others have afforded. It is simply a question 
of the amount of help we will permit ourselves to receive. 
Thousands of our most useful men would never have 
received an education at all had it not been for accept- 
ing just the same kind of help that is now offered you.’* 

“ I guess the question was a foolish one,” admitted Kay; 
“ but I shall feel all the better for your explanation, and 
I am very grateful to all of you who have taken interest 
enough in me to arrange this thing. I had scarcely 
thought it possible for me to go to Clinton Academy, 
even while I was saving up my money to go .to some 
school. It was a hard struggle, too, for me to give up 
that money to George ; but I knew it was right, and I 
did it, believing that God would open the way for me to 
get an education, and he has, even better than I planned.” 
He was silent a moment or two, as though in deep thought, 
then he added : “ Who would have supposed that just 
that meeting with Mr. Swinburne that day would have 
led to this.” 

“ Kemember, too,” said Mr. Carletou, with emphasis, 
“ that it was after you refused to accept the money those 
men offered you for your education, and not before. 
When you had refused to accept an education by dis- 
honest means, God led you in his way, and opened for 
you this door. So far as I can see, the education is 
within your reach, and in an honest, manly way also.” 


252 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


“God’s ways are better as well as higher than our 
ways,” remarked Kay, his eyes filling with tears of joy. 
“This, then, was what Edward Lawton wanted to talk 
over with me. How I wish he was going too ! ” 

“ He is,” answered Mr. Carleton, with a laugh ; “ that 
is what he wants to talk over with you. His mother 
finds that she can, with economy, send him, though he will 
have to help himself somewhat, and as Mrs. Lawton will 
have much furniture to spare when she moves into her 
cottage, she proposes to fit you boys out with everything 
to make your rooms at the academy comfortable. There 
will not be a thing for you to provide in that direction.” 

“Well, I don’t know that I shall sleep any to-night under 
the inspiration of this good news,” said Ray, as he arose 
to be shown to his room ; and, indeed, his bright, sparkling- 
eyes scarcely looked as though they would need sleep for 
hours to come. “ I believe I would start for Long Point 
farm, late as it is, just to throw off this exuberance of 
spirit, were it not that Edward wants to see me in the 
morning.” 

“ Which would be ignoring our hospitality entirely,” 
remarked Mrs. Carleton, with a laugh, as she bade him 
good-night. 

The next morning Kay went around to Edward Law- 
ton’s, and so busy did they at once become with their 
plans and with their selection of the articles they would 
have sent to the academy for their use, that the clock 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


253 


struck twelve, and Miss Daisy, bright and pretty in her 
morning dress, entered the room to announce dinner 
before they were through. 

“ Why,” Ray exclaimed, in consternation, “ I ought to 
have been at Long Point farm long before this. Really, 
you must excuse me.” And his looks showed how he 
hated to go. 

“ You needn’t worry, Mr. Ray,” said Daisy, with a 
graceful courtesy. “ Mr. W oodhull knew of this also, and 
he said if we w^ould only let you get home by night, he 
would have reason to thank us.” 

Ray needed no farther urging to remain. He found 
Mrs. Lawton kind and motherly, and as she spoke of his 
and Edward’s going to the academy, Ray could not help 
thinking she could not be more interested if they were 
both her own boys. And a little later, when he took his 
leave, she seemed almost to echo his own thought, for she 
said : 

“ I want you to feel, Ray, that you are always welcome 
here ; indeed, count this as one of your homes. For I 
can never forget that but for you I should not only now 
be bereft of husband, but of son also.” 

Ray found Mr. Jacob Woodhull at the farm when he 
arrived there, and he soon ascertained that both he and 
his nephew were already well acquainted with the new 
plans formed for him. 

“We hate to lose you,” Mr. George Woodhull said; 


254 THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 

“ but we are anxious for your advancement, and shall on 
that account even hasten your going. Only remember, 
your vacations are to be spent right here. I’ll pay you 
more for the sight of your face than any one else will for 
a whole week’s work.” And he turned away to hide his 
own deep feeling. 

Later, Mr. Jacob Woodhull came around to the barn, 
where Ray was alone. He helped the boy finish the few 
chores that remained to be done, and then leaning back 
against the stanchion of one of the stalls, he asked : 

“ Do you remember, Ray, the night when you came 
over to my place and offered to pay me for the damage 
you had done me? ” 

“ Yes,” replied Ray ; “ and I hope you think better of 
me to-night than you did then.” 

“ I certainly do,” the old man replied, emphatically ; 

but do you remember what I charged you then ? ” 

“ Why, twenty-five dollars,” answered Ray. 

Exactly,” assented Mr. Woodhull; “but, Ray, did it 
ever occur to you that I charged you about five times 
more than I ought to have done ? ” 

“ No, indeed ! ” said Ray. “ I was the prime mover in 
all those scrapes, and I ought to have been made to pay 
dearly for them.” 

“ Only your share,” said the old man, sharply, “ and I 
never regarded but five dollars of that money as mine. 
The other twenty I invested for you, and it is just won- 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


255 


derful how the Lord has multiplied it. I have only been 
keeping it until I thought you would really need it, and 
when my nephew told me how you had given all your 
money to help George, and that you were going to the 
academy, I said, ‘There, Jacob Woodhull, that boy’ll 
need that money now, if he ever does — at least, he’ll need 
a part of it ; ’ so I’ve brought it down to you. This is 
only the first installment, but perhaps it is all you’ll need 
just now ; the rest is well invested, and when you want 
it, let me know. Here,” and be took out a roll of bills 
from his pocket, and extended it toward Kay. 

“Not a cent of it belongs to me,” said Ray. “You 
ought to have it all.” 

“ It isn’t mine, either, and I’ll never touch a cent of it 
again. I told the Lord you should have it when I in- 
vested it, and I’ll leave it here, and you can do what you 
are a mind to with it.” And the kind but eccentric old 
man threw the money on the floor, and walked out of 
the barn. 

Ray picked up the roll and counted the bills ; there 
were five, and all tens, making fifty dollars. He held 
them in his hand a few moments, and then slowly put 
them into his pocket. He now had ample provision for 
one term at the academy, and the best of it was — the 
Lord had provided it all. Surely he had no cause to fear 
but that the divine presence and guidance and blessing 
would go with him in this new undertaking. 


256 


THE BLACK FOBGE MILLS. 


On the Monday morning after Thanksgiving, though 
it was a day before the winter term at Clinton Academy 
opened, Edward and Ray left Afton for Easton, a small 
city in an adjoining State, and about fifty miles back 
from the sea coast. The academy buildings, numerous 
and spacious enough to accommodate over two hundred 
pupils, stood on a high hill just outside of this city, and 
commanded a fine view of the surrounding country. So 
famous was the school, however, that its ample accommo- 
dations were employed to their fullest capacity by the 
students who came crowding to its doors. Ray and 
Edward, consequently, as late comers, were obliged to put 
up with a room on the fourth floor of one of the older 
dormitories. But when they had unpacked and arranged 
their furniture, which had already arrived, the room pre- 
sented a home-like appearance, not at all unattractive 
even to them. Well tired with their exertions, they sat 
down in their room after supper for a much-needed rest. 

“ I tell you wliat it is, Ned,” said Ray, “ we now begin 
a new career, and it is just the time for us to adopt rules 
that shall govern us throughout our whole academic 
course. What do you think ? ” 

“ I want to begin right, and keep right clear through 
to the end,” answered Edward, thoughtfully. “Have 
you anything to suggest ? ” 

“ When I left the Forge for Long Point farm,” an- 
swered Ray, “ I adopted some resolutions that have been 


THE BLACK FORG-E MILLS. 


257 


a great help to me. I see no reason why I should not 
re-adopt them now. I will read them to you, and per- 
haps you can make some suggestion that will add to their 
effectiveness.” And he took from his pocket the rules 
he had written long months before, and which we have 
already recorded. 

Edward listened attentively, and, when Ray had fin- 
ished, he remarked, gravely : 

“ I guess, Ray, if we live up to these rules here at the 
academy, we shall have all we want to do without adding 
others. But I'm willing to adopt them, too. I tell you, 
I have a small frame in my trunk, and I'll copy those 
off in my finest style ; then we will frame them and hang 
them just over our study table. There they'll be where 
we can see them, and where others can see them, too. 
So we will keep them constantly in mind, and show our 
colors at one and the same time. What say you ? ” 

“A capital suggestion!” answered Ray, enthusiasti- 
cally. 

Edward, who was an unusually fine penman, now got 
out his writing materials, and copied the resolutions, 
while Ray looked up the frame and made that ready. 
In less than an hour the task was completed, and the 
neatly written rules hung just above the study table. 

“ One thing more, Ned,” said Ray, as he stepped down 
from the chair on which he had stood to hang the frame. 

“ What is it, chum ? ” 

R 


258 


THE BLACK FOKGE MILLS. 


Let US now ask the Master to help us keep them.” 

“All right!” 

And the two lads knelt there, and in turn asked their 
Saviour to help them to make those resolutions a part of 
their daily lives, in their studies, among their associates, 
and in whatsoever they should find to do. 

With this consecration of their young lives to Jesus, 
they began their careers as students at Clinton Academy. 
Is it strange that the Master drew near and looked down 
in gentle love upon them? What else could we expect 
of One whose promise to his own is ; “I will never leave 
thee, nor forsake thee ” ? 


CHAPTER XIX. 


SHOWING THEIR COLORS. 

I T is impossible to follow Ray and Edward in all the de- 
tails of their academic life. All that can here be done 
is to give a few incidents that will illustrate their mental 
and spiritual growth ; and if in these Ray seems to have 
undue prominence, let it be remembered it is his story 
that is given on these pages. 

Ray sought an early opportunity to confer with Mr. 
Phillips, the principal of the academy. 

“I presume you know my circumstances,” he said. 
“ If I succeed in graduating from the academy, I must 
have work. Do you know of anything I can get to do?” 

Mr. Phillips smiled at the lad’s straightforward way in 
coming to the point, and asked ; 

“ What are you willing to do ? ” 

“ Anything that is honest,” answered Ray, promptly. 
*‘We have usually given the bell ringing and the 
sweeping of the recitation rooms in Prince Hall to some 
student, allowing him tuition and room rent free for the 
work. It happens that the student who has had the posi- 
tion for nearly four years wishes to give it up. As your 
tuition and room rent are already provided for by your 

259 


260 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


scholarship, I presume the trustees would be willing to 
let that work offset your board bill. It is an exacting 
position, however, for the first bell rings at six in the 
morning, the last at nine in the evening. Are you will- 
ing to undertake it ? ” 

“ Yes, sir. When shall I begin ? ” inquired Ray. 

Mr. Phillips smiled again. The promptness of this lad 
was amusing. To-morrow morning,” he then answered. 

Greene, in number 42, on the second floor of your own 
dormitory, will give you all needful instructions.” 

Ray now rose to go ; but Mr, Phillips detained him a 
moment to add : “ Some of the boys also find work to do 
on Saturdays down in the city. In the spring, work can 
be found to some extent among the neighboring farmers. 
You are at liberty to undertake anything that does not 
interfere with your school duties. I wish you success, 
and will help you all I can.” 

The ofiice of bell ringer obliged Ray to rise very early. 
The office of sweeper compelled him to be on the alert at 
an early hour also. But this was no especial trial to 
Ray. He had all his life been accustomed to early rising. 
Promptness, if not one of his inborn qualities, was one 
he had acquired at a very early age. His mill life had 
drilled him to it. His farm life had simply supplemented 
it. It was all the same to him whether he arose at four 
or five o’clock in the morning, or whether he rang the 
bell once or twenty times a day. He adapted himself to 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


261 


circumstances with perfect ease. Instead of bending to 
circumstances, circumstances bent to him. He made a 
good bell ringer and sweeper simply because he tried to 
perform even those tasks as he tried to do everything 
else — in the best possible way. 

His position brought him into disfavor with some of 
his associates. In a large school like that there were 
some students who came from wealthy and aristocratic fam- 
ilies, and they seemed to think that manual toil was a dis- 
grace. Instead of honoring Ray for securing an education 
in this manly, independent way, they appeared to regard 
his coming among them as an insult to themselves. But I 
am glad to say there were but a few of this class ; and even 
they, before a great while, were forced to respect Ray. They 
found he was as good a scholar as he was bell ringer and 
sweeper. They found he could row a boat, or bat a ball, 
as well as he could recite. They found him manly and 
gentlemanly at all times. It suddenly dawned upon their 
minds that any necessary and useful employment is re- 
spectable. It was Ray who taught them that truth. He 
dignified the most menial work he was called to perform. 
He did it by putting Christian principle into his work. 

It was soon apparent to all, moreover, that Ray and 
Edward Lawton were inseparable. Some unusual tie 
evidently bound them together. Nor was it long before 
the reason for this was discovered. Ray had saved Ed- 
ward’s life at the risk of his own. Here was heroism, 


262 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


and they could honor heroism wherever it was found. 
Eay at once became an important personage in their eyes. 
And this, together with his manly, courteous attitude 
toward all, soon made him a general favorite. 

But Ray was not contented with the work he had al- 
ready found to do. There were incidental expenses that 
must be met, and clothing that must be provided. His 
little store of money would soon be exhausted. He must 
contrive some way to carry himself through to the long 
summer vacation, and pay all bills. “ I must keep my- 
self just as far as possible from trespassing upon the gen- 
erosity of my friends,” he said. On Saturdays, there- 
fore, he went among the farmers of the neighborhood, 
seeking work. He cut wood, and hauled it to the market. 
He helped to harvest the ice crop. He even shoveled 
paths when they were made necessary by a heavy fall of 
snow. One day he came up from the city, where he had 
been on an errand, rubbing his hands in great glee. 
“ Ned, ’ he cri^d, bursting into the room where his chum 
was sitting, “I have found two grand jobs for us.” 

“ That’s good news,” answered Edward, who had man- 
fully done all he could find to do, that he might lighten 
his mother’s ilurdens. “ What are they ? ” 

“ One is in a shoe store,” replied Ray. “ They want 
an extra clerk on Saturday and Saturday evenings ; will 
pay a dollar and a half each time. I’ve booked you for 
the place. How’s that ? ” 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


263 


‘‘Let me hear about the other first,” said his chum, 
with a smile. 

“The other L« in a grocery store; but it is heavier 
work, and there is more exposure. So I kept that for 
myself,” remarked Kay. 

“And what is the pay?” asked Ned; for he knew 
Kay well enough to suspect there was an additional 
reason for his choice. 

“ Why, they will give but a dollar each time,” Kay 
admitted, after some hesitation ; “ but that is all right.” 

“ No, it isn’t,” answered Edward, decidedly. “ I have 
allowed you to take the heaviest part in many of our 
jobs, because I knew you were more capable and more 
used to toil ; but I won’t take more pay. I’ll go to that 
shoe store if you will take the extra half dollar ; or else 
111 throw up the job.” 

Kay tried to argue the unreasonableness of this ; but 
Edward would not yield. And the matter was finally 
settled by putting all the money they both earned into a 
common fund, from which each was to draw as he had 
need. This custom continued between these two friends 
not only through their academic, but also through their 
college course. 

There were over five thousand volumes in the library 
belonging to the school. From this treasury of knowl- 
edge Kay drew largely. It was the first time in his life 
he had been favored with such a privilege, and every 


264 


THE BLACK FOKGE MILLS. 


moment of his spare time was occupied with books there- 
from. History, poetry, the best works of fiction, were 
alike devoured by him. His tenacious memory held 
much that he read. He began here, too, a habit of 
systematic reading, which he maintained all through his 
student life, and found of immense value. 

“ What are you doing with those books, Ray ; copying 
them ? ” asked Edward, one day. 

“ No, though I am making their contents mine as 
much as possible,*’ Ray replied. “ As I read, I try to 
note down the main thought, and the line of argument 
of the writer. When I have finished the book, I review 
and re-write the notes I have made on the chapters, 
bringing them into a consecutive whole. Thus, when I 
am through, I have the substance of that book fixed in 
mind ; know the important topics on which it treats ; and 
can file away the notes for reference, if I so desire, 
hereafter. I mean to follow this custom with every 
book I read, and make myself familiar with its con- 
tents.” 

“No one can doubt the wisdom of the plan ; but how 
about the patience necessary to carry it out ? ” added his 
chum. 

“ I think in the long run I shall get over more ground 
than I should with the usual method of reading, and with 
this advantage, I shall know and can utilize what I have 
read. Then, hereafter, when I speak or write upon a 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


265 


given subject, I shall be able to turn at once to the best 
source for the necessary material,” answered Ray. 

“ Your powder and shot will be right at hand ; all you 
will have to do will be to load and fire,” suggested Ned. 
“ Well, that is a good idea, and if there is no patent on 
your arrangement, I will adopt it too.” 

“ It is public property ; has been used long before my 
time, and will be used long after. I got the idea myself 

from a book I was reading not long ago. I do not see 

% 

how there can be more than one opinion as to the useful- 
ness of the plan,” replied Ray, resuming his work. 

This circumstance shows how systematically Ray 
entered into all his studies. His teachers soon began to 
look upon him as a pupil of no ordinary ability. He 
showed plainly that he meant to fully understand every 
topic under discussion. His motto to do everything 
thoroughly was again and again illustrated. Long 
before his first year was completed he was regarded as 
the most promising scholar in the school. 

An incident occurred in the spring term, moreover, 
that well illustrated Ray’s love of fair play, and his quiet, 
unassuming way of helping others. He came out on 
the playground one day to find a number of the students 
putting one of the town boys who had ventured on 
the field under the pump. The day was raw and chilly, 
and the lad was already well drenched, when Ray dis- 
covered him. With a quick bound he was at the boy’s 


266 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


side, and throwing his tormentors to the right and left 
with his strong arms, he caught the child — for he was 
scarcely more than that — in his arms, and carried him to 
his home. ‘ 

Calling the next day to inquire after the boy, he found 
him dangerously sick from the drenching he had received. 
The mother, a widow with several smaller children, was 
almost beside herself with anxiety and despair. The boy, 
young as he was, had been her main stay, and by doing 
chores for a neighbor had earned a small pittance, upon 
which at this season the family was almost wholly 
dependent. Kay at once found time amid his own exces- 
sive duties to perform the boy’s work, and each week 
handed over to the widow the small pay allowed, until 
the lad had fully recovered. The generous, noble act 
would probably have gone unnoticed had not the widow 
herself told of it. In some way it reached the ears of the 
principal of the academy, and one morning at the close 
of the chapel services he detained the students and told 
the whole story. He contrasted Kay’s manly act with 
the cowardly and senseless one of the lad’s persecutors, 
and ended by ordering the guilty students to defray 
all the expenses of the lad’s sickness or they would be 
immediately expelled. 

But perhaps Kay’s consistent Christian life was the 
most noticeable thing about him. It was soon known 
that he and Edward were Christians. The rules they 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


267 


had framed and placed so conspicuously above their 
study table were freely discussed by their associates. 
Some, of course, scoffed at the lads, but others honored 
them for at once showing their colors ; while those among 
the students who were Christians found they had earnest 
helpers in the new-comers. 

They at once took an active part in the weekly prayer 
meeting held by the students. Ray threw himself with 
his whole-souled vigor into these services. His exhorta- 
tions and appeals were examples of earnestness and elo- 
quence, to which students and teachers listened in rapt 
attention. No student of so much power in religious 
meetings had ever before been connected with the school. 
The prayer meeting took on new life. Many dropped in 
who had not been accustomed to attend. A Young Men’s 
Christian Association was formed. Personal work was 
inaugurated ; special prayer was offered ; and the Spirit 
came in quickening and convicting power. A goodly 
number of the students decided for Jesus ; the religious 
tone of the academy was elevated ; and better and more 
conscientious work was done in the class rooms, and in the 
study hours. 

“ Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it,” became the 
watchword of many of those young men not only for 
their student days, but for life. “ A little leaven leaven- 
eth the whole lump.” Two or three followers of Jesus 
with their own souls on fire will kindle into flame the 


268 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS, 


smouldering embers in the hearts of their lukewarm 
brethren. This was the work Ray and Edward did. 
Their bold stand and their manifest consecration to 
Jesus bore their legitimate fruit. 

The esteem in which both lads were held may be 
readily seen from a letter sent by Mr. Phillips to Mr. 
Carleton at the close of the academic year. 

Easton, June 15, 18 — 

Dear Brother Carleton : 

In answer to your letter of recent date, asking after the mental 
and spiritual welfare of your two boys, Ray and Edward, I most 
heartily pen the following : 

From the day they first came to us they have commanded not 
only our approval, hut our respect and love. As scholars, they 
have held exceedingly high rank. Ray easily leads his class, with 
Edward, to use a popular phrase, a good second ; and this, too, 
when both have done much' manual labor to help themselves along. 

Of their Christian character I can speak in equally high terms. 
From the day of their coming they have quietly but persistently 
shown their colors. Much of the deep religious interest obtain- 
ing among us during the winter and spring months has been due 
to their faithful labors for the Master. 

With no intentional disparagement of Edward’s abilities, per- 
mit me to say of Ray : His Christian purpose is one of the remark- 
able things about him. His talents, work, everything, appears to 
be subject to this Christian aim. He most strikingly illustrates 
in his daily life Paul’s words : “ God, whose I am and whom I 
serve.” I feel that he, if spared, will make a power in the world. 

In conclusion I can only add : If there are more boys in the 
Afton Graded School like the two you have sent us, we shall be 
more than glad to welcome them at Clinton Academy at any time. 

Most cordially yours. 


S. D. Phillips. 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


269 


Mr. Carleton handed this letter to Mr. Greenough the 
next time he met him. That worthy gentleman ad- 
justed his glasses and read it through. 

“Well, pastor,” he remarked as he finished, “I’m glad 
to hear this of those boys. I expected it. You see, too, 
Phillips’ opinion about Ray coincides with mine. His 
is. a remarkable case. As I had occasion to remark once 
before, I never in all my life saw so marvelous an illus- 
tration of the Scripture, ‘Even for this same purpose 
have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in 
thee, and that my name might be declared throughout 
all the earth.’ I am no prophet, but I believe the Lord 
has some signal work for that lad to do in our own or in 
foreign lands.” 

And he was right. 


CHAPTER XX. 


THE SHADOW OF DEATH. 

I T was a soft balmy day in June, just two years later 
than the close of our previous chapter. The little 
village of Wenton lay nestling white and beautiful 
among its surrounding hills. The words white and beau- 
tiful are meant literally. For the mill and cottages and 
stores and schoolhouse and chapel were all as white as 
fresh paint could make them, and the village was beau- 
tiful because every cottage had its garden, and green 
plot, and shrubs and flowers; while the mill was sur- 
rounded with tasteful lawns and tall shade trees and 
climbing vines. 

George Branford firmly believed that there was a 
moral and an elevating influence in the beauties God has 
thrown around us. He said it costs the manufacturer 
but little more to make his cottages and factories pretty 
and tasteful in their surroundings, and that he is more 
than compensated for the extra outlay in the ennobling 
effects upon his employes. They are broadened in mind, 
made contented in heart, and elevated in spirit. So, 
with Mr. Bacon’s permission, he had during the two 
years and more that he had been here at Wenton car- 
270 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


271 


ried out his ideas to a practical result, and he was satis- 
fied ; for there never was a happier nor more contented 
manufacturing community. 

The little village had grown somewhat also during this 
time. First of all, the mill itself had been so enlarged as 
to be hardly recognizable. Indeed, the additions were so 
extensive that the old mill was only a wing of the main 
building now. Then this enlargement of the mill neces- 
sitated more tenement houses ; so a new street was opened 
back to the hills, and that row of pretty white cottages 
was built. Nor was this all. There was one other new 
building. Just down the street there, and almost in the 
centre of the clustered houses was a chapel, its white spire 
rising sixty feet toward the heavens. That has a history 
all its own. 

When George Branford first moved to Wenton no 
religious services were held in the village. He stood this 
condition of things just one week, and then he organized 
a Sunday-school and established a weekly prayer meet- 
ing. These services were held in the schoolhouse, for the 
want of a more suitable place. But one day Sailor Jack 
came down to Wenton to visit his old friend. After going 
over the mill, he took a stroll around the village. He 
even climbed the highest hill and looked down upon the 
busy community at its base. Then he returned to the 
mill office, and said, abruptly, to George Branford : 

“ You need a chapel here badly.” 


272 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


know it,” George replied. “We shall have it in 
time.” 

“ There is a nice lot out there on that knoll for it,” 
added Sailor Jack. “ It’s almost the centre of the village, 
and it would be a sightly position.” 

“Yes,” answered George, with more interest; “that’s 
the site I had picked out for it.” 

“ Wonder what it is worth ? ” went on Jack, rising from 
the chair into which he had thrown himself on entering 
the office, and going to the door to get a better view of 
the knoll. 

“Oh, it can be bought at a reasonable price,” said 
George. “ Chapman, the storekeeper, just beyond, owns 
it ; but he is a Christian man, and is anxious for the 
chapel, and will do the right thing when the time comes 
for building.” 

“Guess I'll go over and talk with him,” Jack re- 
sponded, sauntering off in the direction of the store. 

George turned to his desk with a smile. He under- 
stood the drift of Jack’s questions, and lifted up a 
silent prayer that the Lord would lead his old friend to 
carry out the purpose that was slowly forming in his 
mind. 

He saw nothing more of Sailor Jack until dinner time. 
He seemed pre-occupied at the table, and ate in almost 
absolute silence. When he had finished his meal, however, 
he pushed his chair back from the table, and crossing one 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


273 


knee over the other, he looked steadily at George for a 
half minute. 

“ Did I ever tell you, George,” he then asked, ‘‘ that 
my mother was born in this town ? ” 

“ No,” replied George, in some surprise. 

“ It is a fact,” answered he ; “ she was born about a 
mile out of this village, and lived there until she was 
quite a girl. Her maiden name was Wenton, and it’s 
from some of her folks most likely that the village takes 
its name.” 

“ There used to be an old grist mill on the stream near 
where the factory now stands, owned and run by a man 
named Isaac Wenton; that gave rise to the name of 
Wen ton’s Mill, and when a post office and railroad station 
were established here, it was shortened to Wenton,” ex- 
plained George. 

“ He was my mother’s uncle,” said Jack ; “ but what 
I’m coming at is this : I have bought that knoll of Chap- 
man, and I’m going to erect a neat, comfortable chapel 
on the lot at my own expense, and call it Wenton Memo- 
rial Chapel, in memory of my mother. Whenever you 
organize a church here. I’ll present the property to it, 
and add funds enough to keep the building in constant 
repair.” 

And he was as good as his word. As soon as the plans 
could be perfected, the building was begun, and before 

another winter came the Wenton Memorial Church was 

s 


274 


THE BLACK FOKGE MILLS. 


organized with twenty-four members, and took possession 
of the valuable chapel property. 

But let us now look at some of the persons at Wenton 
in whom we have already become interested, for there 
have been changes in them also during the past two years. 
The mill whistle blew sharply for noon, and a stout, well- 
dressed gentleman stepped out from the mill office, and 
nodded pleasantly to the employes, who were passing him 
on their way to their homes. He was soon joined by a 
young lady, from the office also*, and the two walked up the 
street toward a neat cottage near its end. The gentleman 
was Mr. George Branford, superintendent of the Wenton 
Manufacturing Company ; for a corporation of which Mr. 
Bacon was president now controlled and ran the mill, 
and this accounted for the many improvements in the 
mill property and village that we have already noticed. 
George has developed into a first-class business man, and 
when the corporation was organized a year before, he was 
unanimously chosen superintendent at a handsome salary. 
The young lady by his side was his youngest sister, who 
had taken a course of study at a commercial college, 
and was now bookkeeper in the mill office. The two 
other sisters have married Christian men, and live in 
adjoining cottages over in the new row next to the 
hillside. That matronly woman standing on the porch 
of yonder cottage is our old friend Betsy Branford, 
though you would scarcely recognize her as the pale. 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


275 


thin woman we last saw at the Forge. Good care, 
nourishing food, and abundant help in the household 
duties have wrought this change. You can see, too, by 
her thoughtful, intelligent face that she has kept pace 
with her husband in his mental growth, and that her 
religious faith is still strong and fervent. A glance within 
the cottage, moreover, at its tastefully-arranged apart- 
ments, its well-filled bookcases, and its air of comfort, 
tells of a refinement and culture you would scarcely have 
expected to see. It is wonderful how the grace of God 
can in so little time transform a whole household ; but it 
has been done here. Greeting her husband and sister 
with kisses, Betsy says : 

“ Dinner is all on the table. I will call father, and we 
will sit down at once.” 

In answer to her call, an old white-haired man came 
briskly in from the garden, and his neat dress, his pleas- 
ant features, and his quiet, gentlemanly appearance indi- 
cate a great change in Mr. Branford, the elder. That 
prison life, under God’s blessing, reformed the man. His 
heart was touched as he entered those prison gates. Ray 
and George and the girls had all, at times, visited him. 
They wrote to him frequently, and even tried to point 
him to the “Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of 
the world.” Nor were those visits and letters without 
their influence upon him. But it was that Bible that 
Ray gave him, and the Spirit’s influence on the truth. 


276 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


as the penitent man pored over its pages, that finally 
gave him peace. God’s time came, and the answer to 
the prayers that had so earnestly been lifted up for him 
was granted. He found Jesus precious unto his soul. 
He is very doubtful of himself. He has made no great 
professions ; but all who knew him in his old life can see 
the change. Through good behavior his term of service 
was materially shortened, and for some months now he 
has made his home with George, going faithfully to 
every religious service, working at whatsoever he can 
find to do, asking no favors of any one, yet thankful if he 
can be of use anywhere. 

The family now sit down at the table, and the four 
children, young as they are, all bow their heads as 
George asks the blessing, and throughout the meal one 
would be impressed by the perfect order that reigned. 
There is evidently good training in that home. 

“ Oh, George, have you heard anything from Kay yet ? ” 
Betsy suddenly asked. 

“ Yes, and I must have left the letter at the ofiice,” he 
replied, feeling in every pocket for the missing letter. 
“ I can tell you its contents, however. His school is 
over, and he is in Aflon now. The letter came from 
there. He will be down on the five o’clock train to- 
night, and Edward and Daisy Lawton will come with 
him. All will remain over the picnic to-morrow. Kay 
agrees to make the speech, as he calls it, to the Sunday- 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


277 


school, and all three will help us with the singing ; so 
we are all provided for in that direction. It now promises 
to be a fine day ; I shall stop the mill, and I see no 
reason why we may not have a grand time.” 

“ Are we going to White Rock Lake, papa ? ” asked 
Bessie, a child of five or six years. 

“ Yes, dear,” responded her father. 

“ Wid horses ? ” cried Master two-year-old Bob. 

“ Yes, with horses and wagons,” replied George, toss- 
ing the boy high in the air, and catching him as he came 
down ; “ and when we get there, we shall have boating 
and swinging and a feast, and Uncle Ray will make a 
speech to the children, and the children will sing, and 
we shall have a big time generally, for young folks as 
well as old ones. Do you want to go, sir ? ” 

“ Me drive the horses,” cried Bob, struggling to get 
down on the floor ; and, succeeding, he pranced around in 
imitation of the steeds he had such a passion for. 

“You’ll go over to the train, of course, George?” 
asked his wife. 

“ Yes, and you had better come down to the oflice, and 
go over with me also. Nettie is going. We’ll give 
them a family welcome,” responded George. 

The five o’clock train came rushing up to the little 
station, and scarcely was at a standstill, when the two 
young men and Daisy stepped down on the platform, and 
hurried toward the waiting Branfords. 


278 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


Of the three, Ray, perhaps, had changed the least. 
His tall form had rounded out somewhat, and he had a 
maturer look, but otherwise there was scarcely a percepti- 
ble difference. The same honest eyes and noble counte- 
nance, the same resolute purpose, and the same trustful 
spirit were all there. He and Edward have actually com- 
pleted three years at Clinton Academy, and are now 
nearly twenty. They have lost nothing in rank as 
scholars, or in their influence as Christians ; and they 
have been able to meet their expenses largely through 
their own exertions. 

Ray was no longer the bell-ringer and sweeper at the 
academy, however. Not that he was ever ashamed of 
those oflices, but because he no longer needed to keep 
them. George persisted in paying back the money that 
he had received from Ray in the time of his greatest 
need, and Mr. Jacob Woodhull as stubbornly declared 
he had money that belonged to the lad, and from these 
two, with what he had himself earned during the summer 
vacation, Ray had enough to meet the expenses of the 
second year without special effort. Since then he had 
had a position as tutor to a deformed boy in Easton, and 
the compensation he received was ample enough to defray 
his school expenses. This was an arrangement for the 
year to come also, and Ray had no anxiety on the score 
of his finances. 

Edward was more delicate than Ray, and his studies 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


279 


told upoD him more. He was, too, the same slightly- 
built lad of two years before. Daisy, however, had 
changed the most of all. She was a young lady now ; had 
graduated from the Graded School at Afton, and had 
been for a year in a young ladies’ school of national 
repute. K she was beautifiil as a girl, she is certainly 
more interesting now as she is just budding into young 
womanhood. Her golden locks adorn a face of intense 
loveliness ; her bright blue eyes look up almost saucily 
into yours, while her sweet disposition and earnest Chris- 
tian spirit win hosts of friends for her wherever she goes. 
She is a rare scholar, a fine musician, and possesses a 
voice that would bring her a fortune if she cared to use 
it for the public. She and Ray are as good friends as 
ever, and his fine tenor and her soprano blend in won- 
drous harmony as they sing some of those old matchless 
hymns of praise unto God. This is not her first visit to 
Wenton with Ray, and Nettie Branford and she are fast 
friends, for one tie binds them close together ; they are 
both members of the same royal family, are both 
daughters of the King. 

The next morning dawned bright and beautiful. A 
delightful day was promised for the picnic, and at an 
early hour the Wenton Memorial Sunday-school and its 
friends were ofl* on their five miles’ ride to White Rock 
Lake. This was a beautiful sheet of water, lying at the 
foot of the highest hill in that part of the State. The 


280 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


lake afforded fine boating and fishing, while from the sum- 
mit of the hill a most charming view of the country for 
forty miles around could be obtained. These two features 
had made the locality one of great resort by the people 
for miles around. 

A drive of about an hour brought the party to the 
favored spot, and soon the large grove by the lake rang 
with the merry voices of the happy children at their 
play. Some played at hide and seek, some used the 
swings, some ran off to the boats, some played on the 
sandy beach, or tossed stones into the shining ripples. 
After two or three hours of amusement, the children 
were called together for dinner ; and when this had been 
eaten there was to be Ray’s address, and the singing of 
familiar songs. Before the children had well gotten into 
their places, however, a piercing scream was heard a short 
distance away. A glance showed Daisy Lawton part way 
up the hillside, where she had gone with several other 
young ladies in search of wild flowers, and from her lips 
there came for the second time that piercing scream. A 
number ran at once toward her, and when near enough 
they beheld the cause of her alarm. She had stooped to 
pluck a bunch of flowers just in front of her, when a 
large red or copper-back snake had crawled out from a 
thicket near by ; and now, with its bright eyes fastened 
upon her with a power she could not resist, was slowly 
creeping toward her for its fatal strike. 


f 




Page 281 


w 






THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 281 

Those who had run thither from the neighborhood of 
the table would hardly have been in time to save the 
terrified girl, however. But only a short distance away, 
and coming down from the hilltop, was Mr. Branford. 
He heard the girl’s cry, and saw her danger, and sprang 
down the hill with tremendous bounds. The hand Daisy 
had extended to pluck the flowers was still held, as 
though paralyzed, in that position, and as Mr. Branford 
reached her side the snake was already coiled for its 
spring. He had no weapon with him, and he did the 
only thing he could do in the brief instant remaining to 
him to save the girl. He quickly thrust his own arm 
before hers and received the stroke that otherwise 
would have fallen upon her fair hand. Then shaking 
off the snake, he ground it to pieces beneath his heavy 
boots. 

The greatest confusion now followed. Some bore the 
fainting but uninjured girl to the nearest house; others 
took care of the bitten man. Horses were harnessed, 
Mr. Branford was hurried into a wagon, and driven ofi* 
to the nearest doctor. The rest, with no heart to con- 
tinue the festivities, made ready for a return home. 

Ray and George had accompanied their father. He 
was perfectly calm. “ There is but one way to save me, 
my lads,” he said, “ and that I cannot permit. Liquor 
would perhaps, if taken in large quantities, nullify this 
poison, but it would awaken a serpent more to be feared. 


282 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


Take me home. I am willing to die, now that sweet 
young life is saved.” 

They carried him home, and a physician was brought. 
The wound was cauterized, but to no purpose ; the poison 
had already entered the whole system. 

“ There is but one thing we can do,” said the physician. 
“ Liquor must be poured down him until he is stupefied. 
It is our only chance to save him.” 

“ We will not take it, then,” replied Mr. Branford, reso- 
lutely. “ It would only awaken the slumbering appetite 
I have for the accursed stuff; and I cannot live a drunk- 
ard, but I can die a sober man.” 

No persuasion would get him to yield. 

George and Ray stayed by him to the last. He suffered 
terribly. When the end was near, he was still calm in 
mind, and could talk. Suddenly he cried out : “ I’m 
ready. What is that Scripture, Ray — ‘ Though I walk — 
though I walk ’ ” 

Ray instantly repeated the sublime and comforting 
words : “ Yea, though I walk through the valley of the 
shadow of death, I will fear no evil ; for thou art with 
me ; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” 

“ That’s it ! that’s it ! ” cried the dying man. “ I’m 
going down the valley, but I fear no evil ; for he is with 
me.” His voice failed — a single gasp — and he had passed 
through the valley of the shadow into the infinite light. 


CHAPTER XXI. 


THE WIDENESS OF GOD’s MERCY. 

T he unfortunate but heroic death of Mr. Branford 
attracted wide attention, and the Wenton Memo- 
rial Chapel was filled to overflowing on the day of his 
funeral. Mr. Carleton officiated, and he dwelt only upon 
the last few months of the deceased’s life. He alluded 
to his quiet but unassuming hope in Christ. He recalled 
the fact that Jesus’ own words were : “ I came not to call 
the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” Then he told, 
in thrilling tones, how Mr. Branford had heroically thrust 
his own arm before the venomous reptile, to receive the 
blow that otherwise would have fallen upon another. As 
he spoke of his absolute refusal to take the intoxicating 
draught, and mentioned the dying man’s last words, 
there was scarcely a dry eye in that throng ; and there 
were few indeed who did not agree with Mr. Carleton’s 
closing declaration : “ He died looking to Jesus for sal- 
vation.” The lifeless body was then laid by that of the 
Christian wife who had died some years before, and of 
whom the dying man had spoken with almost his last 
breath. 

Ray remained at Wenton for a while after the funeral, 

283 


284 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


but about the first of July he went down to Long Point 
farm, not so much for the wages he could earn, as for the 
love he still had for his old home. He always received a 
welcome there that made him rejoice to go ; then, too, he 
had lost none of his love for the farm and the dwellers 
there, for the stock, or for the bright blue sea that tossed 
its waves upon the shore. There was something restful 
in those quiet but charming surroundings, and Ray felt 
that under their influence he grew in mind and spirit, and 
in his communion with God. “ I don’t wonder,” he often 
used to say, “that the Master spent so much of his time, 
performed some of his grandest miracles, and uttered 
some of his most precious truths, by the Sea of Galilee. 
His words and his deeds have a new meaning to me as I 
read them by the tossing waves.” 

So through July and August, Ray toiled about the 
farm, or sat and read on the seashore. Then September 
came, and he must soon get ready to I'eturn to Easton for 
his last year at Clinton Academy. He decided to spend 
a few days with George at Wenton, and with friends in 
Afton, before his return ; and so this would be his last 
night at the farm. After supper, he strolled down to the 
shore alone, and, sitting down upon the little wharf, he 
looked up toward Afton, which could be dimly seen in 
the fast fading twilight. 

His mind soon became busy with the reminiscences of 
the past few years. How often had he gone up that bay 


THE BLACK FOKGE MILLS. 


285 


to Afton I Just down around that point Edward Lawton 
had come on the night of the storm, and he had gone 
out to save him. How good God had been to Edward 
and himself! How gracious God had been to his loved 
ones I George and the girls were all serving Christ. 
The father had died trusting in the Saviour. Where 
were Tom and Dick? Nothing had been heard of them 
since they, four years before, had escaped from the 
county jail. Were they alive? Had God reached and 
saved them also ? How he would like to know I An 
overwhelming sense of the Master’s nearness and the 
Master’s goodness came over him ; and for a while he sat 
there absorbed in these contemplations, and rejoicing in 
his soul. 

Then his mood changed. A bright gleam came into his 
eye, a smile played upon his lips. Another friend had 
come to mind — Daisy Lawton. Daisy was a great deal 
in Ray’s thoughts lately — more than he himself perhaps 
realized. He recalled her narrow escape at the picnic, 
and somehow he felt a thrill of satisfaction deep down in 
his heart that it was his father who had saved her, though 
at the expense of his own life. Had not that act in a 
measure atoned for the stain that had rested upon his 
father’s name ? Would he not dare now to speak of a 
matter that had long been hid in his heart, and which he 
had felt he dare not make known with that father’s dis- 
grace still resting upon him? It certainly seemed to 


286 


THE BLACK FORGE MILI^. 


him that the father’s heroic death altered the whole situ- 
ation. He could not help feeling it did. Anyway, by- 
and-by he would venture to speak to Daisy of this matter 
which so intimately concerned him at least. Nor did he 
think that she would be altogether indifferent respecting 
it. “ What a friend she has been to me all these years ! ” 
he thought, his heart swelling with joy and gratitude. 
There was, as the reader has already discovered, a deeper 
feeling there — a feeling of deep, passionate love. He was 
slowly waking up to it ; but he did not know it was to 
cost him the greatest struggle of his life. 

His thoughts so pre-occupied his mind he did not notice 
that the shades of night had already fallen heavily around, 
and that a dense fog, drenching everything it touched, was 
slowly rolling up the bay. Nor did he notice that a boat, 
with a single oarsman therein, was pulling down the har- 
bor directly toward him, until he heard his name called. 

Looking up almost in alarm at the suddenness of the 
call, he saw the boat had stopped a rod or two away ; 
and the occupant, whoever he was, now called again : 

“ Ray, is that you ? ” 

There was something familiar in those tones, and yet 
Ray could not tell who it was. He promptly answered, 
however : 

“ Yes ; but who are you? ” 

The boatman, instead of replying, resumed his oars and 
came directly into the wharf. Jumping out of the boat. 


THj: BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


287 


he fastened it to a ring in the dock, and then turned and 
faced the lad. 

Bay, don't you know me ? ” he asked. 

Again there was something familiar in the man’s tones, 
but surely that tall, robust, and well-dressed man was a 
stranger. 

“ No, sir,” replied Bay, after scrutinizing him for a few 
minutes, “ I do not think I do, though your voice seems 
familiar.” 

“ Four years such as I have seen make a vast difference 
in a man. No wonder you do not know me,” the gentle- 
man remarked, somewhat sadly. 

Four years! Those two words let a flood of light 
stream into Bay’s mind. 

“ Tom I ” exclaimed he ; “ can it be possible it is you ? ” 
Yes ; it is no other,” the man replied, with a j)leasant 
laugh. “ I don’t wonder you are surprised to see me.” 

“ I certainly am,” replied Bay, with heartiness, “ and 
I’m glad you have returned. But where is Dick ? ” 

“ He is dead,” answered Tom, solemnly ; “ but it is a 
long story I have to tell you. It can wait till you tell 
me of the home friends, and where they all are. I got 
into New York a few days ago, and securing a leave of 
absence I started for my native State. Beaching Afton 
this afternoon, I went down to the Forge to find the 
mills in ruins, and half the tenement houses empty. I 
ran in with a man who told me the mills were burned, 


288 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


but be knew nothing about the Branfords who used to 
live there, except that was the name of one of the men 
who had been sent to prison for helping to fire the mills. 
I then took a boat and came down here to see if I could 
learn anything of your whereabouts. I knew it was not 
under the pleasantest circumstances that Dick and I left 
home, but I am thankful to say that old life has been 
abandoned, I trust, forever.” 

“ You are a Christian, then, Tom? ” Ray asked, eagerly. 

“ I am thankful I have a Saviour,” he answered, rev- 
erently. 

“ And Dick ? ” asked Ray, almost in suspense. 

“ He died trusting in Jesus. It was his happy death 
that, under God, brought me to the Master. But 111 tell 
you the whole story soon. Now where are father, and 
George and the girls ; and how about yourself ? Don’t 
keep anything from me, however bitter it may be. I 
will help you bear the burden. I’m just hungry for any 
news. Haven’t heard a word, you know, in four years. 
So drive away, Ray.” 

Ray rapidly related the changes those four years had 
brought in the family circle, and with which the reader 
is already familiar. Tom, in his turn, was delighted to 
learn that all were now Christians, and that the father, 
sad and recent as his death was, had not died without a 
hope. 

“ God has led us all to himself, Ray,” he said, with deep 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


289 


emotion ; “ and what a change even in our worldly sur- 
roundings it makes to be followers of Jesus. George is 
superintendent of a mill ; Nettie is a bookkeeper ; you 
are nearly through with an academic course on your way 
to college ; the two older girls are in Christian homes of 
their own, and I am first officer of as fine a ship as sails 
the ocean. Who would have thought these things pos- 
sible?” 

“ It is all of God,” replied Ray, with no less emotion. 
“ But come, Tom, the fog is drenching us. Let us go up 
to the house. You will stay with me to-night.” 

Having made sure that the boat was properly secured, 
the two brothers walked up to the house. Ray left Tom 
at the door a few moments, while he went in to explain 
to Mr. Woodhull who his unexpected visitor was, and 
the change that had taken place in him. Mr. Woodhull 
gave the wanderer a cordial welcome, and, after a supper 
had been furnished him, he said : 

“ Mr. Woodhull, you have given me a kindly welcome 
here to-night, and it is no more than fair that you should 
hear my story. I left home under circumstances that 
give you the right to question whether I am now worthy 
of your friendship and hospitality. I have not yet related 
to Ray the strange narrative of my wanderings, and how 
Dick and I, far from home and among strangers, were 
brought to Jesus. If you and your wife and mother care 

to hear the story, I will, without going too much into de- 
T 


290 THE BLACK FORCE MILLS. 

tail, tell it to you, feeling sure that you will agree with 
me that it is a striking illustration of how Christ can 
save to the uttermost. It scarcely seems possible that I 
could have gone away from here only four years ago a 
criminal fleeing from merited punishment, and now re- 
turn ‘ a sinner saved by grace.’ Yet such has been the 
will of God.” 

“We shall be glad to listen to your story,” Mr. Wood- 
hull remarked, pleasantly ; so, with a low bow of thanks, 
Tom began : 

“ On the night, four years ago, when my brother and I 
escaped from the county jail, where we were awaiting our 
trial, we fled to the nearest seaport, and found a brig 
named the Sea Witch about to sail for Brazil. The cap- 
tain was short of hands, and anxious to leave port on the 
flood tide, so he was not very particular as to our history. 
We both were able-bodied men, and that was the most he 
cared about, and after a few questions he shipped us as 
green hands before the mast. Ten hours later we were 
out of sight of land, beyond the reach of the pursuing 
ofiicers, and that was the most Dick and I thought of. 
We little knew then that he would never return to his 
native land, and that four long years would pass ere I 
again should see these familiar shores.” 

He bowed his head upon his hands for a moment, as 
though overcome by some sudden recollection, and then 
he continued: 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


291 


“We had a long and rough passage, for we met storm 
after storm, and the old brig was far from being staunch 
and seaworthy. Added to this, our captain proved to be 
a tyrant, and not only half starved us, but manifested his 
cruelty on the slightest occasion. Dick and I wouldn’t 
have fared much worse if we had stayed at home and 
gone to prison. When we reached Kio Janeiro we were 
glad to leave the vessel and go ashore among entire 
strangers. A few days later Dick came down with the 
ship fever, and before the week was out I was down with 
the same disease. We had been stopping at a sailor’s inn, 
but on our recovery from the delirium into which we both 
had fallen, we found ourselves in the house of an English 
missionary. He had found us just as our inhuman host 
was about to turn us out of his inn to die, and having 
us removed to his own residence, he tenderly cared for 
us. It was there the first religious impressions were made 
upon us — more, however, upon Dick than upon myself. 
He recovered before I did, and while waiting for my con- 
valescence he had several long religious talks with the 
missionary’s wife, and was under deep conviction when 
we shipped on board an English vessel for Liverpool. 

“ Our captain was a friend of the missionary, and was 
an earnest Christian also, and -he had learned enough 
about us to be deeply interested in our cases. He gave us 
each a Bible when we come on board, and secured from 
each of us a promise to read it. Dick was more faith- 


292 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


ful to this promise than I, and when our watch brought 
us forward alone, he would talk of what he had read. 
One night we had a fearful storm. The wind blew a 
hurricane, and I never saw such waves as were hurled 
against us. At times it seemed as if they must overwhelm 
the ship, she was so deeply laden and labored so heavily. 
Then for the first time I saw the experiment tried of cast- 
ing oil upon the troubled waters. The captain had two 
kegs arranged just at the l)ow of the vessel, and from 
each a small stream of oil was constantly pouring upon 
the tossing waves. The effect was almost magical, for the 
huge waves were smoothed by the spreading oil, and the 
ship had a comparatively smooth sea in which to sail. 

Dick and I were sent forward to watch the kegs, and 
to keep them supplied with oil. All at once Dick gave a 
cry of joy. ‘ I have it ! I have it, Tom ! ’ he cried. ‘ Why 
have I not seen it before ? This illustrates our need of a 
Saviour. The billows of sin compass us about, and are 
destined eventually to destroy our souls. Then God 
pours in his saving grace, the billows yield before its 
magic power, and there comes peace, and we push on 
into the haven of rest. It is Jesus through whom that 
grace is obtainable. He alone is the fountain of supply. 
Faith is the means by which it flows down to us. Praise 
the Lord, I believe, and that grace is mine.’ 

“ There was no mistaking even in that storm and dark- 
ness that the great blessing of salvation had come to him. 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


293 


The next day he told the captain, and then he began 
praying for me. We reached Liverpool after a stormy 
passage. The captain had, for some reason, taken a great 
liking to Dick, and now took him to his own church, and 
before we sailed again Dick was baptized. Our next 
voyage was on the same ship, and with the same captain. 
Dick wouldn't leave him, and I stayed by Dick. This 
time we had taken cargo for Hong Kong, and had a long 
voyage before us. We had been out but a few days 
when the captain gave Dick some books, and told him if 
he would only study he would teach him navigation, and 
fit him to take command of a ship. The lad didn’t need 
any urging, and the way he pored over those books set 
me to thinking that I might learn navigation too. The 
captain consented, and, with our other duties, we soon had 
enough on our hands to keep us busy most of the time. 
I had long before this left off all drinking and swearing; 
in fact, the captain wouldn’t allow them on board the 
ship. I began now to read my Bible daily, but no light 
or peace came. 

“We had rounded the Cape, and had made a big run 
on toward our destination, when a sudden squall struck 
us. All sail was out at the time, and the crew was 
ordered aloft to take it in. One fellow named Jones, a 
green hand, was at work on the mizzen-top-sail, when a 
strong gust of wind struck him. He let right go of the 
sail, and clung to the yards for dear life. The loosened 


294 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


sail was caught by the wind, and the spar was wrenched 
from its place, and down it came with a great crash to 
the deck. Dick and I were at the wheel, and saw it 
coming ; but he saw what I did not — ^that the captain 
was right under where it, with the next roll of the ship, 
would strike. With a cry, he let go the wheel, and 
sprang forward to save the captain. He succeeded in 
this, but before he could get out of the way himself it 
struck him upon the back and crushed him to the 
deck. We picked him up, and at the captain’s order 
carried him into the cabin, but it was soon apparent that 
he could not live. His back was broken and he was 
injured internally. Though he suffered greatly, he made 
no complaint, and was as happy as could be at the thought 
of meeting his Saviour. About dark it was evident that 
he was fast sinking. 

“ ‘ Tom,’ he suddenly said, though feebly, ‘ in my chest 
you will find a little over a hundred dollars I have saved. 
Promise me that you will add to it until you have enough 
to pay Mr. Shephard, at Afton, for what we took from 
him, and that you will then go back and give it to him. 
Tell him it was what I was striving to do when this blow 
came, and that I died trusting in Jesus. And, Tom, try 
to come to the Saviour : promise me that you will do 
that also.’ I couldn’t help crying, great strong man as I 
was, but I gave him the promises he asked. A few 
minutes later he suddenly raised his hands. ‘ I see the 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 295 

King in his beauty,’ he cried ; ^ crown him ! crown him ! ’ 
And then he died. 

“We buried him in the sea the next morning, just as 
the sun rose above the horizon, and sad and lonely I 
went about my work. His death made a deep impression 
upon me. For days I was harassed with thoughts of my 
own sinfulness. I struggled for light. I tried to pray. 
But the darkness that surrounded me only seemed to 
grow more dense. I found no peace. No help came. 
But one night as I was off watch, and lay in my bunk, 
there came to me the words I had often heard Dick 
repeat. So plainly did I hear them, and so like Dick’s 
voice did the message sound, I could have almost be- 
lieved it was he speaking ; ‘ The blood of Jesus Christ 
his Son cleanseth us from all sin ; ’ and with those words 
there came light. I now saw that the only way I could 
be saved was by accepting that Son as my substitute. I 
just cried aloud for help, ‘ Lord, 1 need thee ; wilt thou 
not save ? ’ And with that cry peace came. I knew I was 
heard. I was saved. 

“But I am making a long story. The captain felt 
drawn to me for Dick’s act, and when we reached Hong 
Kong he put me in as second mate. We went from there 
to Australia, and then back to England. Over three 
years had now elapsed, and I had added enough to Dick’s 
money to pay Mr. Shephard in full for his loss. I felt, 
too, I must come and acknowledge my sin, and, if Mr. 


296 THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 

Shephard so desired, to meet its penalty. I therefore 
resolved to come home at once. The captain easily got 
a place for me as first mate on a ship sailing for New 
York, and there I landed a few days ago. To-morrow I 
shall call upon Mr. Shephard and pay him principal and 
interest for the injury he received from us. If he then 
desires to continue the case against me, I will suffer the 
penalty for my crime. I feel it is the only right thing to 
do — to go back to the hour of my sin and make all possi- 
ble reparation, whatever the consequences to myself.’" 

*‘I hardly think he will push the case,” said Mr. 
Woodhull. “He must be convinced of your change of 
heart by your very desire to settle with him.” 

“ I have letters from the English captain and from the 
captain of my present ship testifying to my good charac- 
ter, and I trust Mr. Shephard may be willing to give me 
a trial before he prosecutes the case. I am willing he 
should hold it over me, and call it up whenever he has 
any reason to suspect I am playing the hypocrite,” said 
Tom. 

The next morning, Mr. Woodhull and Ray accom- 
panied him to Mr. Shephard’s store. That gentleman 
listened in silence to the wanderer’s story, until he con- 
cluded by counting down six hundred dollars on to the 
office table, saying, “ That belongs to you, sir.” 

Then Mr. Shephard said : ‘‘ No, it doesn’t. I got most 
of the goods back, and two hundred doUars will pay me 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 297 

for all my trouble and all costs.’^ And he pushed four 
hundred dollars back toward Tom. 

“ I much prefer for you to take it all/’ Tom said. 

“Not a cent more,” replied Mr. Shephard, de- 
cisively. 

“What will you do about my prosecution, sir?” asked 
Tom, with some trace of anxiety. “ I am willing to 
answer for my crime if it seems best to you.” 

“ Do you really mean that ? !’ asked Mr. Shephard. 

“ Yes, sir,” replied Tom, stoutly. “ I measured the cost 
when I came here. I might have sent you the money 
without coming in person. But I felt the only right 
thing to do was to come directly to you, and take the full 
consequences of my act. I have letters here from the 
two captains I have sailed with since I became a Chris- 
tian, and I wish you might feel confidence enough in me 
to give me a fair trial. But I shall abide by your de- 
cision, only I would like to know the worst.” 

“ Well,” said Mr. Shephard, after reading the letters, 
“ this is what I shall do. I shall immediately take steps 
to have your case rendered nolle prosequi. And now ” 
— ^with a merry twinkle in his eye — “I want you all 
to go home with me to dinner.” 

As he shook hands heartily with Tom, he added : “ I 
only hope the Lord has forgiven my sins as fully as I 
have forgiven you. I once caused Ray’s arrest when he 
was innocent ; I’ll now settle the score with him by letting 


298 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


you who were guilty go free.” And he marched them all 
off to dinner. 

Tom and Ray took an afternoon train for Wenton. 
George and the sisters welcomed the long-absent brother 
with joy and thankfulness when they learned that he too 
was a follower of Jesus. For the third time the wan- 
derer told his story, and this time he disclosed an addi- 
tional fact. “ I have never united with Christ’s Church,” 
he said, “ because I felt I could not properly do so until 
I had atoned as far as possible for my crime. But when 
I saw your chapel here, I thought with exultation, ‘ Now 
I can do so.’ When, George, do you have your next 
preparatory meeting? ” 

“In two weeks,” answered George. “Mr. Carleton, 
of Afton, will come down at that time and remain over 
Sunday with us. We shall be glad to have you go for- 
ward with us then.” 

“ That will do, nicely,” responded Tom. “ I must go 
back to New York to-morrow, as I have but four days 
absence. The captain has not yet been to see his fam- 
ily, and wants me to take charge of the ship while he is 
absent ; but I will run up in two weeks, and spend that 
Sunday with you.” 

The next evening George, Betsy, and Ray sat in the 
parlor of the little cottage, talking over Tom’s return 
home, and the evidence he gave of a change of life. 

“ Every one of us has been led to Jesus,” remarked 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


299 


George. “Father, Dick, and all the living. We began 
with you, Ray ; and who would have thought then that 
the result would now be what it is ? What is the lesson 
we are to learn from it ? ” 

“ That God will surely answer the prayer of faith,” 
said Betsy. 

“ Yes,” assented George, “ and I think we are also 
taught that nothing is impossible unto God. What do 
you think, Ray ? ” 

“ That we as a family illustrate the unlimited mercy of 
God,” he reverently answered. 


CHAPTER XXII. 


THE LAST YEAR AT EASTON. 

W HEN Ray reached Clinton Academy, he found 
a note awaiting him from the merchant whose 
deformed son he taught. It simply requested that he 
should call at the merchant’s place of business as soon 
as possible after his arrival. So, early in the afternoon, 
'Rnj went down to the city. He found the merchant in 
his office, and was received with some show of cordiality. 

“ I am glad to find you have returned, Mr. Branford,” 
he said, “ and have sent for you to see if you would be 
willing to take another scholar in addition to my son. I 
have a widowed sister, who has now returned to Easton 
and will make my house her home. She has a daughter 
but two months younger than my boy, who is a cripple ; 
was made so by the same accident that deformed her 
cousin. By the way, has Louis ever told you how he 
came to be deformed? ” 

“ Xo, sir,” Ray answered. “ I have purposely avoided 
asking him anything about it. I knew he was extremely 
sensitive, and so have tried to draw his thoughts away 
from his deformity, and teach him to believe that the all 
important thing is a beauty of soul.” 

300 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


301 


The merchant nodded approvingly, and then told the 
story of the accident: “It was the summer Louis was 
four years old. My sister was visiting us with her little 
girl, and my wife, who was living then, spent much time 
riding about the city and its suburbs with her and the 
two children. I had a new coachman, but he seemed to 
be thoroughly reliable, and I had no thought of danger, 
though I knew the horses were exceedingly high-spirited. 
It seems, however, that the fellow drank occasionally, and 
one morning, when my wife had ordered the carriage to 
be driven around to the door for a ride, she found that he 
was tipsy. At first she thought of postponing the drive. 
Would that she had done so ! But it was the last oppor- 
tunity my sister would have to ride out, as on the morrow 
she was to return home, and they had arranged an excur- 
sion to Weetunk Lake, five or six miles from here. 
Finally, much against her better judgment, my wife 
decided to go. 

“ They reached the lake, and were riding along a steep 
bank on the west side, when, for some unaccountable 
reason, the horses became frightened, and the driver in 
his drunken condition was unable to manage them, and 
down the bank they plunged. The carriage was over- 
turned and crushed against some trees, while the liber- 
ated horses and driver were hurled down into the lake. 
They escaped serious injury, as also did my wife and 
sister. But both children were caught under the broken 


302 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


carriage ; and, when removed, it was found that my boy’s 
back was injured, and one limb of my sister’s little girl 
was wrenched almost from its socket : one was deformed, 
the other crippled for life.” 

“ Yet how merciful was it that their lives were spared I ” 
remarked Ray. 

“ Merciful ! ” cried the merchant, with intense bitter- 
ness. “ A strange mercy, it seems to me. Why, I am 
more merciful than that ! If I could, I would not have 
allowed a defect, nor a pain to have come to my beau- 
tiful child.” 

“ God never does wrong,” replied Ray, simply ; “ and 
even inscrutable providences are overshadowed by mercy, 
though we may not see it.” 

“ It would take a great deal to make me believe that,” 
muttered the merchant. 

Ray forgot that the gentleman before him was Mr. 
Grafton, the proudest and richest merchant in the city. 
He forgot for the moment that he was father to his pupil, 
and the very man who, if offended, could take from him 
the very means by which he hoped to pay his way in the 
academy. He forgot that he was perhaps trespassing 
upon the valuable time of the merchant, and that his 
own business with him was not yet completed. I say 
Ray forgot these things ; perhaps it would be more cor- 
rect to say that he lost sight of them for a time, because 
a more important thing had already taken possession of 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


303 


his mind. He remembered only that the man before 
him had questioned the wisdom and mercy of the God 
he loved and served. Had he a right to let this fact go 
unnoticed? Would he not, in a sense, be denying his 
Lord if he did ? Whatever others may have thought 
under the circumstances, this was the view Ray took of 
the case ; therefore, he said, politely, but firmly : 

“I beg your pardon, sir, but may not God in his 
wisdom know better than we what is best for us ; and 
may he not in his mercy, knowing just what is before us, 
send a light aflliction upon us to save us from a more 
terrible evil that otherwise would have befallen us ? ” 

“ How do you make that out ? ” asked the merchant, 
partly in surprise and partly in curiosity. Surprise that 
this young man should have dared to take up the gauntlet 
many an older Christian would have entirely ignored ; 
curiosity as to how he would defend himself now that he 
had assumed the task. 

“ Well,” said Ray, boldly, “ if a robber should seize 
in your house a casket full of rare jewels, would you not 
justify one who should rescue them, even though in this 
process the casket should be marred ? ” 

“ I rather think I should,” the merchant answered. 

“ Perhaps,” said Ray, “ God wrought thus with your 
boy ; and the casket was marred that the gem might be 
saved. Neither I nor you may understand it, but it will 
bring vast comfort to believe it.” 


304 


THE BI.ACK FORGE MILLS. 


“Perhaps it may be so,” replied the merchant, 
thoughtfully. “ The boy has unusually deep religious 
impressions for one so young. He is like his mother in 
that. Since her death I have perhaps allowed myself to 
grow too bitter and hard of heart.” Then, as if ashamed 
of his acknowledgment, he said, somewhat brusquely: 
“ How about taking the extra scholar ? Of course, you 
are to have double pay.” 

“Indeed, sir; I had not expected that,” said Ray, 
gratefully. “ You pay me very liberally, and I am 
willing to take your niece without extra compensation.” 

“ I am very pleased with the progress Louis is making, 
and he is very much attached to you. If you only do as 
well with the two, we shall be abundantly satisfied. We 
shall insist, however, upon your taking double pay,” 
responded Mr. Grafton, turning to his desk. 

“ Thank you, sir,” answered Ray, rising to go. “ And 
you are not offended at my defense of One who is dearer 
to me than aught else.” 

Again Mr. Grafton looked curiously at him. “You 
have done no harm, young man, if you have done no 
good,” he grimly replied. “ Good-afternoon, sir.” 

“ Good-afternoon,” replied Ray, leaving the office with 
a great wish in his heart that he could have plead better 
the cause he had espoused ; but though he did not know 
it, he had exerted an inffuence that day destined yet to 
produce important results. 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


305 


The weeks glided swiftly by. The fall term at the 
academy ended just before Thanksgiving; the winter 
term began immediately after. Kay’s pay from his two 
pupils enabled him now to be entirely independent of his 
friends; in fact, he was saving something toward his 
prospective college course. 

Early in the beginning of the new year, a well-known 
evangelist, and one whose fame as a successful Christian 
w^orker was in all the churches, visited Easton. Union 
services were held in the largest hall of the city, and 
though the evangelist remained but a short time, an 
unprecedented religious awakening took place. Keligion 
became the theme of conversation on the streets, at the 
places of business, and in the homes. With the depart- 
ure of tl:e evangelist, the churches, dividing the city 
into districts, vigorously carried on the work. 

In the suburbs of the city, near the academy, was a 
young but growing church. Here Kay, on coming to 
Easton, though he did not sever his connection with the 
First Church, Afton, had made his religious home. He 
became a teacher in the Sunday-school. He frequently 
led the prayer meetings ; and so efficient had he proved 
himself in all religious work, that when this thorough 
awakening on the part of the churches came, Mr. Gage, 
the pastor of the young church, pressed him into full 
service. It fell upon Kay to take charge of the evening 

services whenever Mr. Gage was detained elsewhere, 

u 


306 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


One evening when he w^as in charge of the services, he 
was quite surprised to see Mr. Grafton, the merchant, some 
time after the meeting had begun, enter the room and 
take a back seat. Ray knew that the chapel was the 
nearest place of worship to the merchant's palatial resi- 
dence, but he had never known him to enter its doors 
before. Indeed, he seldom ever went to church any- 
where, and when he did, it was at one of the most aris- 
tocratic and fashionable churches farther down town. 
This made his entrance into the chapel now all the more 
noticeable. He paid the strictest attention to the re- 
marks and prayers of those who took part in the services, 
and even once or twice added his deep bass to the famil- 
iar songs that were sung. Near the hour for closing he 
arose, and said ; 

“ I arise to-night not because I can testify to the saving 
grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. I know nothing about 
it. In fact, I do not even understand it. I believe intel- 
lectually in the existence of a God, and in Jesus Christ 
as his Son. I am willing to admit that, the Bible is his 
book. Farther than that, I cannot honestly say I am 
now prepared to go. But I would like to know what it 
is to have Jesus for an intimate and personal friend, such 
as many here to-night have testified he is to them. I 
would like to know that I am saved. I would give all 
I am worth to-night to know that peace which is said to 
pass all understanding.” 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 307 

He paused, and made as though he would sit down ; 
then he went on, hurriedly : 

“For weeks, yea months, I have been in a state of 
unrest. Ever since the day the leader of this meeting 
had the courage to speak to me in my office in defense of 
his Lord, I may say I have had no peace. The burden 
is getting too great for me to bear. I feel I must have 
light soon, or I shall sink in sheer despair.” 

Amid a marked stillness that had fallen over the 
meeting at this unexpected circumstance, some one began 
to pray. It was Mr. Gage, the pastor, who had entered 
the room in time to hear Mr. Grafton’s words. When his 
fervent appeal that God would give this man light for 
Jesus’ sake had ended, and the meeting had closed, Mr. 
Grafton thanked the pastor somewhat haughtily for the 
interest he had manifested for him, and immediately left 
the room. When Kay entered the street, however, he 
found the merchant waiting for him. 

“ Mr. Branford,” he asked, “ are you willing I should 
walk up to the academy with you? ” 

Kay gladly consented, and they walked on for a short 
distance in silence. When far enough from all others to 
be unheard, the great man inquired : 

“ Would it be asking too much, Mr. Branford, for you 
to tell me as simply as possible how I am to be saved?” 

This man, who had been so haughty when in the pres- 
ence of others, was very humble now. 


308 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
saved,” replied Ray, quickly. And then he silently 
asked the Master to help him in leading this anxious soul 
to him. 

“ Yes ; I know,” said the merchant. “ I have studied 
those words for weeks. But what do they mean to you?” 

“ Taking Christ at his word ; accepting just what he 
offers. He tells us that he came to die as our substitute, 
and, if we will only believe it, he will hold that relation 
to us. We are to believe it, and show our faith by living 
up to the fact,” said Ray. 

The word “ substitute ” caught Mr. Grafton’s attention. 

“ Substitute ! ” he exclaimed. “ How is he our substi- 
tute? How can he be? That is just where my difficulty 
lies.” 

Ray gave a deep sigh. How he wished for Mr. Carle- 
toQ, or even Mr. Gage, to have been there just then! He 
felt so unable to cope with this great truth, and make it 
plain to this haughty inquirer ; and yet it is doubtful if 
any one else could have helped the great man at all. 
He would not have listened to any one as he did to that 
lad. 

“ I admit,” said Ray, slowly, as though measuring 
every word, ‘‘ that there are difficulties in the way of our 
comprehending just how such a thing could be ; but shall 
we for that reason reject it? We have the fact. May 
we not accept it and act in accordance with it, even if we 


THE BLACK FORGE 'MILLS. 


309 


do not fully understand all about it ? How many times, 
Mr. Grafton, we do that very thing with reference to the 
things of this life. I noticed, when down at your office, 
that you had direct telegraph connection with some of our 
large cities. Electricity is the agent that you employ to 
transmit your messages. Do you understand just the 
nature of it ? Why is it that it has such a strong affinity 
forborne things that they become first-class conductors, 
while other things are as perfect non-conductors ? Some 
things about it you understand ; some things about it are 
still a mystery. But you accept the fact that it will 
transmit your message, and make use of it daily in your 
business; and it accomplishes your purpose. 

“ Now, I admit that the idea of ‘ God manifest in the 
flesh,’ and becoming a substitute for sinful man, is sur- 
rounded with great difficulties. Paul himself has written : 
‘And without controversy great is the mystery of godli- 
ness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, 
seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in 
the world, received up into glory.’ But the fact is indis- 
putable. Before you came into the meeting to-night I 
had read for our evening lesson the fifty-third chapter of 
Isaiah. It is wonderful how the idea of Christ as a sub- 
stitutionary sacrifice for sin is brought out there in nearly 
every verse. If not so, what are you going to do with 
such passages as these : ‘ Surely he hath borne our griefe 
and carried our sorrows’; ‘He was wounded for our 


310 THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 

transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the 
chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his 
stripes we are healed’? No other ultimate thought 
could the prophet have had in mind but that the Messiah 
of whom he here speaks was to die in the sinner’s stead. 

“ Turning to the New Testament, we find its confirma- 
tion in the way Christ died, and in declarations like these : 
‘For when we were yet without strength, in due time 
Christ died for the ungodly.’ ‘ God commendeth his love 
toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died 
for us.’ ‘He tasted death for every man.’ ‘He was 
made a curse for us.’ Great as may be the mystery of it, 
here is an indisputable Scriptural fact. Those who have 
accepted it, and used it according to direction, and with 
the proper instrument of faith, have found it to accom- 
plish their purpose, just as much as the subtle and myste- 
rious current you call electricity when properly used 
produces its expected results. Take him at his word, and 
see if he does not do just as he promises. 

“ Pardon me for speaking plainly, but do not hope to 
go to Jesus, feeling that you are Mr. Grafton, the leading 
and most influential merchant of Easton, and that you 
would like to have him do you the honor of becoming 
your substitute. But go to him as Mr. Grafton the sin- 
ner, who must perish except he shall save, and there 
humbly plead his own promise, ‘in nowise to cast out 
them that come unto him.’ ” 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


311 


It was a plain, bold speech ; but Ray, with no thought 
of anything but this man’s great need, spoke with all 
that earnestness and eloquence for which he was noted, 
and Mr. Grafton listened with the profoundest attention. 
They had now reached the academy, and Mr. Grafton 
stopped. 

“ Light is coming,” he said. It ought to, with such 
plain preaching as you have done. God bless you, and 
please pray for me.” And he turned and walked rapidly 
away. 

The very next evening, however, he was at the meet- 
ing ; and, rising, he made an humble confession of Christ, 
that touched every heart there. This was not entirely 
unexpected to Ray, though, for that afternoon, when he 
had gone at the usual hour to teach his pupils, he had 
been greeted by Louis, with the words : 

“ Oh, Mr. Branford, my papa loves Jesus now, and he 
is going to attend the same chapel where you go ; and 
Aunt Amy will go too, and they say Susie and I may join 
the Sunday-school. Aren’t you glad ? ” 

Ray was indeed glad ; and not long after Mr. Grafton 
and his sister united with that young, struggling church. 
They came there, moreover, to be earnest workers for the 
Master, and their great wealth from that hour was also 
consecrated to the Master’s use. 

So busy now was Ray with his studies and his work 
for the Lord, that almost before he could realize it was 


312 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


possible the last of May had come, and with it the closing 
examinations of the year. When these were over, it was 
found that Ray not only led his class, but that he held 
the highest rank ever attained by any graduate of the 
institution. Edward Lawton ranked second, and once 
more the two friends were brought into the same relation 
at their graduation — Edward taking the salutatory and 
Ray the valedictory. 

Mr. Phillips, the principal, had looked forward to this 
commencement with commendable pride. He felt that 
his two leading scholars would honor him and the insti- 
tute not only by their high scholarship and their earnest 
Christian character, but also as eloquent and forcible 
speakers. Particularly was this true of Ray. He had 
already developed rare ability as a writer and a speaker. 
His thoughts were always fresh and original, and his 
language appropriate and well chosen, while he possessed 
a voice of marked richness, flexibility, and power. He 
knew that the fame of both these lads had already gone 
out from the school, and would doubtless draw a host of 
the friends of the academy together on the graduating 
day. 

Nor was he mistaken. The- day dawned as bright and 
beautiful as a June day well could, and the audience 
filled the academic hall to its fullest capacity. Among 
those wLo were gathered there might have been noticed 
quite a number who are old friends of the reader. From 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


313 


Afton there were Mrs. Lawton and Daisy, Mr. and Mrs. 
Carleton, Mr. and Mrs. George Woodhull, Jacob Wood- 
hull, Miss Squire and her eccentric father, who had lost 
none of his interest in Ray. Mr. Greenough, Mr. Shep- 
hard, Mr. Bacon, Dr. Gasque, and Sailor Jack had also 
come. From Wenton were all the Branfords, and with 
them was Captain Tom, who had arrived from his first 
voyage as commander of a ship, just in time to run up 
with the others to Easton. All of these, of course, had 
special reasons for being interested in the two who bore 
ofi* the chief honors of the day. 

But there was another, an aged gentleman, who sat in 
the very front seat of the hall, and listened with rapt at- 
tention to the two lads as they gracefully took their 
places, and eloquently and forcibly delivered their ad- 
dresses. It was Mr. Swinburne, older and feebler by 
four years now than when Ray had first met him at the 
university grounds of a neighboring metropolis, but still 
quite hale and hearty for his fourscore years. What he 
thought of the lads may be seen by an interview he sought 
with them a few hours later. 

“ Young gentlemen,” he said, shaking hands cordially 
with them, “ I listened with great pleasure to you to-day. 
I was even more pleased to learn from your principal the 
marked position you have held throughout your course of 
study as followers of Jesus. I have heard of a certain set 
of resolutions you placed above your study table, on 


314 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


coming to this institution, and thus at the outset of your 
academic life took a position for the Master which by his 
grace you have steadily maintained. Now I have a favor 
to ask of each of you. I understand you will in the fall 
enter the university of which I am a graduate. I have 
there, as here, established scholarships to which I still 
hold the right to appoint the recipients. Two will be 
vacant at the beginning of the next academic year. May 
I have the privilege of naming you two young men as the 
ones who in my humble judgment are worthy to receive 
their benefits ? ” 

With grateful thanks the two friends accepted the 
kind old gentleman’s offer, and he departed with an air 
that seemed to imply he had been favored, not that he 
had conferred a favor. 

“Well, chum,” remarked Ray, when they were alone, 
“ I do not see but both of us have a fair outlook for our 
college course. Thanks to our friend Mr. Swinburne, 
our tuition and room rent are provided for, and only 
our board and incidentals remain. Surely, with our 
experience here, we have no reason to falter in the 
undertaking.” 

“That is so,” said Edward, thoughtfully, “and I 
think I shall be able to go through college without any 
help from mother. We have friends in that city, and 
through them I hope to secure employment for you as 
well as for myself.” 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


315 


“ Always thinking of me, Ned,” said Ray, throwing his 
arm affectionately around his chum ; “ but we will bor- 
row no trouble. Those same old rules shall go to the 
university with us ; the same principles shall actuate our 
hearts; we shall look ever to the same Master for his 
guidance and blessing. Why need we then have any 
fear? His name to us is Jehovah-jireh — the Lord will 
provide.” 

“ Amen,” said Edward, gently and reverently. And 
then the two passed out from those academic halls to 
new duties and a new phase of life. 


CHAPTER XXIIL 


A summer’s vacation. 

R ay and Edward left Easton on the same train with 
their Afton and Wenton friends. All, in fact, had 
taken seats in the same car, and a bright, merry, viva- 
cious company they made. Captain Tom Branford had 
reversed the seat in front of Mr. Squire and his daughter, 
and was apparently listening with marked attention to 
the old general’s vehement praise of an institution that 
had been wise enough to confer its highest honors upon 
two Afton boys; but in reality he was studying the 
daughter’s fair face with an admiration so manifest she 
could not have failed to detect it, had she not been en- 
grossed by another matter quite outside of herself. Her 
thoughts were on her “ two boys,” as she called them, and 
remembering what they, by divine grace, had become, 
she ‘‘thanked God and took courage” for those of her 
class who were still unsaved. 

Mr. Carleton, Mr. Bacon, George Branford and Sailor 
Jack had taken seats somewhat apart from the others, 
and the four were busily engaged in talking over some 
matter in low, earnest tones. Edward Lawton and his 
mother, Mr. and Mrs. George Woodhull, and Jacob 
316 


THE BLACK FORGE xMILLS. 317 

Woodhull formed another group, and their conversation 
was with reference to the latest rumor on the streets of 
Afton — namely, that iron ore’ in paying quantities had 
been found in the hills back of that village, and that 
parties interested desired to buy the old Forge site and 
water privilege, that they might establish a smelting 
furnace and iron works there. For three of this group 
there was special interest in this rumor ; for if true, it 
meant unexpected financial gain to them. Mrs. Lawton 
and Edward knew that the sale of the Black Forge 
water privilege and tenement houses would bring them 
no small sum, from a property that for four years had 
been absolutely non-productive ; while Mr. Jacob Wood- 
hull knew that he was by far the largest owner of the 
wild and rugged tract on the mountain where the ore 
was said to have been discovered. The shrewd old 
gentleman admitted to Mrs. Lawton that negotiations 
had already been entered into with him for the purchase 
of this land, and that on his acceptance of the liberal 
oflfer made him there would be no doubt but that the 
Black Forge property could be sold. 

Doctor Gasque, Mr. Shephard, Mrs. Carleton, Mrs. 
Bacon, Mrs. George Branford, and the others of the 
vivacious company were grouped on both sides of the 
aisle near the centre of the car. Bay occupied a seat 
with Daisy Lawton, near enough to the others to join in 
the animated conversation, yet far enough away for him 


318 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


and his fair companion to occasionally converse in low 
tones of the studies each had been specially interested 
in during the past year — of the work each had tried to 
do for the Master, and of the hopes they had of greater 
spiritual growth and higher usefulness in that Master’s 
service. 

“Shall you, when your studies are completed, choose 
work on the home or some foreign field ? ” Daisy had 
asked, with unusual interest. 

“I have not decided,” Ray answered. “I do not think 
much about that yet. I am just trying to do each day’s 
work for Jesus as it comes. I simply want him to show 
me the work ; and whatever it is, or wherever it is, I am 
ready to go.” He had special reason to remember those 
words at a later period. 

The car they were on went through to Afton without 
change, and the minutes passed away so swiftly and 
pleasantly, it seemed almost incredible when the brake- 
man announced that the next station would be Afton. 
At this announcement, however, Mr. Carleton arose 
from his seat, and came along where Ray and Daisy 
were sitting. 

“ Miss Daisy,” he asked, somewhat roguishly, “ is Ray 
going to stop at Afton, or is he going on to Wenton to- 
night?” 

A slight flush passed over the fair face, but she frankly 
replied : “ He stops at Afton to-night, I believe, sir.” 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


819 


“ I might have known it,” remarked Mr. Carleton, with 
an emphasis that changed the slight flush on her face to 
the deepest crimson ; then to Ray : “ Will you come up 
to the parsonage before you go on down to Wenton? 
There is a matter I wish to talk over with you.” 

“ Certainly, sir ; shall I disturb you if I come up early 
in the morning? I want to go on down to Wenton in 
the" afternoon so as to see Tom for a while before he goes 
back to his ship.” 

“Any time after nine and before twelve will do,” 
responded Mr. Carleton, going on then to where his wife 
and Mrs. Bacon were sitting. 

Ray turned to his companion: “What plan have my 
Afton friends arranged now ? ” he asked. 

“ How should I know ? ” she answered, demurely. Ray 
looked down into the bright eyes that gazed up into his, 
but if they knew what the matter was that Mr. Carleton 
desired to “ talk over,” they kept their secret well. He 
could not even tell whether the fair girl before him had 
any knowledge of that matter or not, though he strongly 
suspected she had. 

“ My friends mean to ruin me by doing too much for 
me,” he finally said. 

“ Few would think so, judging from the eflbct of the 
past favors on you, sir,” she remarked, significantly. 

Ray’s face grew thoughtful instantly, “ I have tried 
to show them I appreciated their favors in the only 


320 THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 

way I could — by making the most of myself,” he re- 
plied. 

“No one who knows you can doubt that,” she re- 
sponded, with tones of mingled admiration and pride, 
while a bright smile came to her lips and a far-off look 
to her eyes, as though she had thought of something pecu- 
liarly pleasant to herself. 

He had no time to reply, for the train was at the 
Afton station, and he assisted Mrs. Lawton and Daisy to 
a carriage, while Edward looked out for the baggage ; 
then all drove off toward the Lawton cottage. As they 
turned on to the avenue. General Squire’s handsome 
equipage dashed by them, and to Ray’s astonishment he 
saw his brother Tom sitting opposite the general and his 
daughter, evidently on his way to the Squire mansion 
for the night. The comical look that passed over his 
face at the discovery was evidently noticed by Tom, who 
raised his hat with a remarkable flourish in return. Pos- 
sibly Miss Squire had also noticed the expression on Ray’s 
face, for she looked up toward the young man in front of 
her with an amused smile. 

Not far from nine o’clock the next morning Ray rang 
the door bell at the First Church parsonage, and was 
immediately shown to Mr. Carleton’s study. That gen- 
tleman on his entrance whirled around in his study 
chair, and asked : “ Ray, what are you going to do this 
summer ? ” 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


321 


“ Anything I can find to do,” replied Kay, taking an 
easy chair, and looking over to his pastor with a smile. 

“Well, I’ve got work for you,” continued Mr. Carle- 
ton ; “ or, rather, the Lord has work for you at Wenton.” 

“ What is it, sir ? ” Ray asked, with some idea now of 
what the matter to be “ talked over ” was. 

“You know,” explained Mr. Carleton, “that I have, 
since the organization of the church there, been the act- 
ing pastor. I have gone down to them at least once in 
two months, have secured them occasional supplies, and 
baptized the new members ; but I cannot with my work 
here do the work that ought to be done down there. In 
consultation with Mr. Bacon, your brother George, and 
Sailor Jack, all of whom have a deep interest in the little 
church there, I find we have but one opinion. It is that 
I should still keep the oversight of the church, but that 
I should be provided with an assistant. I have named 
you as the one whom I prefer for that position, and the 
officers of the Wenton Church have approved my choice. 

“ The plan I have in view is this : You are to go there 
and preach to that people at least once each week, and 
conduct such other services as in your judgment are for 
the best interest of the field. You will do such pastoral 
work as seems to you will be the most efficacious in the 
reaching of that people. At times when an ordained 
minister is needed there, you will simply change with me 

for the day. If the plan proves successful, this will be 
V 


322 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


your work throughout your college course, as you can 
readily come down from the city Saturday afternoons 
and return Monday mornings in time for your studies. 
Whenever the work is too hard for you, we will lighten 
it so you need in no way neglect your college duties. A 
compensation sufficient to meet all of your actual wants 
will be paid by the church, and it seems to me there are 
two marked advantages from the plan : the church will 
have fuller services than it can secure in any other way 
until it becomes strong enough for a settled pastor, and 
you, on the other hand, under my direction and with my 
help, will be gaining an experience that will be invaluable 
in your life work. Were you younger, I should have 
hesitated to suggest such a plan to you, but with your 
age, and an unusual maturity even for your years, I can 
see no harm to yourself in this undertaking, while there 
will evidently be much that will be advantageous. Should 
you need a little time to think this over, it will be given 
you ; but doubtless you can even now tell how the plan 
impresses you.” 

“ I am ready to do any work for my Master,” Kay 
replied. “It may be poorly and feebly done; but it 
shall be the best I can do. Any time in the judgment 
of yourself and the Wenton people it would be wiser 
for you to have some other assistant, I will lay down the . 
work. When shall I begin ? ”* 

“ This coming Sunday, if you can get ready for it,” 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


323 


answered Mr. Carleton ; “ and now let us ask the Lord to 
bless our arrangement.” 

The two knelt there and prayed together with an 
earnestness and faith, which can only come from hearts 
fully consecrated to the Lord, and that desire to know 
and‘ do his will. 

“ I can do all things through Christ which strengthen- 
eth me,” Ray solemnly affirmed, in inspired words, as he 
laid his hand in his pastor’s for a moment before going. 

“ Amen,” heartily assented Mr. Carleton, warmly 
shaking the proffered hand, and adding, as a parting 
benediction : “ He shall give his angels charge concern- 
ing thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.” 

Ray entered into his appointed work with a joy such 
as he had never known before. It seemed a little nearer 
the goal for which he was striving than anything he had 
yet undertaken. He prepared himself as carefully as 
possible for his pulpit ministrations, and then left his 
notes behind and talked to his hearers as the Spirit gave 
him utterance. His messages came warm from the heart, 
and they went to the heart. The little church took on 
new life. Its members were aroused to activity. The 
unsaved were visited and prayed with. The result 
proved that the Spirit could work upon the hearts of 
men even in the summer months, and during the vacation 
season. Many came inquiring the way of salvation ; nor 
did they inquire in vain. Early in August Mr. Carleton 


324 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


came down, and spent a Sunday at Wenton, and bap- 
tized a score of believers, while Ray went up to Afton to 
supply the pulpit of the First Church. 

He had many misgivings as to his fitness, and accept- 
ableness to his hearers ; but when Mr. Carleton arranged 
the exchange, he did not make a single objection. It 
was a part of his work, and he accepted it with the 
determination to do the best he could. Mrs. Carleton 
was out of town, and the parsonage was closed ; so he 
went to his Afton home at the Lawton Cottage for enter- 
tainment over Sunday. 

“ I tell you, Ned,” he said to Edward, when they went 
to their room that night. “ 1 have the biggest under- 
taking on my hands for to-morrow I ever had, but I shall 
not shrink from it. What I dread most, however, is 
that some may remember their old prejudices of four or 
five }ears ago, and refuse to listen to the message I 
brb g.” 

I do not believe there is any of that old and foolish 
prejudice left in the whole town,” Edward answered. 
“ Mr. Carleton told me that he had not arranged this 
plan of work for you without consulting the ofiicers of 
th^ church, and that the proposition had first come from 
them to have you come here when he might be away. I 
believe you will have a full house to-morrow, and that 
they will listen to you with even a deeper interest than 
they would to an entire stranger.” 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


325 


The morrow proved Edward right, so far as outward 
appearances could indicate the hearts of the people. 
They filled the whole house, and gave Ray the, -most 
courteous and marked attention, both morning and 
evening. 

He chose for his text in the morning the words found 
in John 11:6: “ When he had heard therefore that he 
was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where 
he was.” Why God delays in answering our requests 
was his theme ; and he suggested three reasons, each of 
which found its illustration in the experience of those 
sisters of Bethany. With a wealth of illustration from 
the history and experience of God’s people that was 
hardly to be expected from so young a preacher, he 
developed his theme, speaking also with a simplicity 
and earnestness that held the undivided attention of his 
hearers to the close. 

But it was the evening discourse that made the strong- 
est impression upon the First Church people. An 
audience larger if anything than that of the morning had 
gathered. Ray’s text was from John 13 : 8 : “ If I wash 
thee not, thou hast no part with me,” and his theme was : 
“ Christ a necessity of humanity.” Its need of cleansing, 
its inability to cleanse itself, and therefore the absolute 
necessity of its resorting to Jesus Christ, “ who taketh 
away the sin of the world,” were the three points he pre- 
sented with real earnestness, freshness, and power. 


326 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


Ray came down from the pulpit to receive the hearty 
commendations of many who, previous to this, had never 
been especially demonstrative toward him. Slowly he 
made his way to the vestibule to find a number of his 
old school friends waiting to speak with him. He 
delayed a few minutes to return their greetings ; then he 
said to Daisy Lawton, who was among them : “ Miss 
Daisy, shall we go now ? ” She at once took his arm, 
and they entered the street. His act gave occasion for 
many significant looks and remarks from those who had 
witnessed it. “ I wonder if they are engaged ? ” “ What 

a handsome couple ? ” “ And so suited to each other ! 

passed from lip to lip. Meantime, he and Daisy, utterly 
unconscious of the train of remarks they had set in 
motion, were going slowly up .the avenue toward the cot- 
tage. She was telling him how she had enjoyed that 
sermon, and with the familiarity of an old friend was 
suggesting here and there an improvement in the thought 
and utterance of the young preacher. As he listened to 
her, there suddenly came over him the consciousness that 
not only his happiness, but his greatest usefulness de- 
pended largely upon that fair girl’s walking by his side 
through life. They had now reached the cottage porch, 
and turned for a moment to look off toward the hills ris- 
ing quite abruptly just back of them. Then a sudden 
resolve came to Ray. He would settle this important 
question before he returned to Wenton on the morrow. 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


327 


“ Daisy,” he said, “ I have not been upon the hills for 
several years, and to-morrow, before I return to Wenton, 
I believe I will go up there. Could you arrange to go 
with me ? ” 

Was there something in his tones that revealed the 
purpose hidden in his heart? Or had that address, 

Daisy,” instead of “ Miss Daisy,” as he had always 
addressed her before, suggested to the young girl why it 
was he asked this favor? They are wrong who say, 
“ Love is always blind.” Love is sometimes keen-eyed, 
and detects readily what other eyes have not begun to 
discern. It was so now. A great hope came to that 
young girl at his words, simple as they were. Her heart 
was thrilled with a joy that' no words could express, and 
a great light came into the eyes that looked up into his, 
as she answered, so tremulously as not to escape his 
notice : “ Certainly, Kay, if you wish it.” And then she 
turned, and quickly fled into the cottage. 

As early the next morning as the walking through the 
fields would permit — for there had been a heavy dew — 
Ray and Daisy started up the hillside. It was a long 
and fatiguing tramp, but Ray helped his companion 
over the more difficult places ; and not far from an hour 
after they started, they reached the plateau near the top 
of the hill overlooking the town and the bay. They 
rested a few minutes here, and then, at Ray’s suggestion, 
passed around the edge of the hill until they reached a 


328 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


large, shelving rock, from which they could see not only 
the village and the water, but the site of the Black Forge 
Mills. Here they sat down, and gazed about them for a 
time in silence. There were the ruins, about to rise, 
phoenix like, from their ashes ; for the smelting company 
had already purchased the property. Yonder, in the 
distance, was Long Point farm, where Ray had spent so 
many happy hours, and where he had begun his upward 
course toward an education and his life work. Right at 
their feet, seemingly, was the First Church, where he had 
first confessed Jesus, and where he had preached the day 
before. 

“Who would believe,” he said, breaking the long 
silence, “that six years ago I was at work in the mills at 
the Forge — a wild, reckless, godless boy. Did Mr. Carle- 
ton ever tell you how I stoned him the first time he 
visited the mills ? ” 

“He didn’t,” Daisy answered, with a quick laugh; 
“ but Edward has. Doesn’t it seem funny now ? ” 

“ Yes, it does now to laugh over it ; and I’m not sure 
but that was my very first step toward my present life, 
strange as it may seem. Do you know I have not been 
up here since I went down to Long Point farm yonder 
to work ? Can it be possible that it is five years ago ? ” 

“And yesterday you preached very acceptably for the 
First Church people,” added Daisy, gleefully. “Ray 
Branford, the stone-throwing rascal, has in a little over 


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THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


329 


six years become Mr. Ray Branford, the preacher. What 
a cause for wonder ! ” 

“ Behold what God has wrought,’^ said Ray, gratefully. 
Then he turned and took the little hand of that fair young 
girl in his. “Daisy,” he went on, vehemently, “my 
whole life is known to you. Nothing is hid. What I 
was, you know ; what I am, and what I hope to be by 
God's grace, you also know. One thing only have I 
kept from you. So long have I loved you I can hardly 
tell when that love began. Perhaps it was when you 
stood on the wharf and called me back to give me those 
skates. Again and again have I been on the point of 
declaring my love. I can refrain no longer. I know 
my happiness and my usefulness depends largely upon — 
yea, wholly upon your walking through life by my side as 
my wife. Tell me, darling, is my love returned ? ” 

As he began, those bright eyes had drooped, a quick 
flush had swept over her face, and the little hand he held 
trembled in his grasp. As he closed, her head dropped 
upon his shoulder, and she burst into tears; but they 
were tears of joy. 

“ What is it, Daisy ? ” he asked, anxiously, throwing 
his strong arm around her, and drawing her a little closer 
to him, “ do you not love me ? ” 

“ Oh, Ray,” she exclaimed, smiling through her tears, 
“ I have loved you so very, very long, and I have been 
afraid you did not love me as I loved you. I knew you 


330 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


cared for me as you might for a sister, but I knew I loved 
you more than all others beside. Not until last night 
did I feel sure you loved me as you do, and I thought 
you would speak to me to-day of this. I cannot tell you 
how unworthy I feel to help you in your life work ; but 
truly, darling, I will be the best little wife and helpmeet 
for you that I, with God’s help, can be.” 

For answer, he pressed the first kiss he had ever given 
her upon her lips ; and then he said, gently : “ Shall we 
not ask Jesus to bless us in our love, and to grant us 
many years together in his work, Daisy ? ” Then they 
knelt while Ray prayed with a fervor and faith he had 
never manifested before, after which they slowly started 
down the hillside on their return to the village. 

They immediately sought Mrs. Lawton, and with his 
arm thrown around the blushing girl, Ray manfully told 
his story, and asked for the mother’s sanction and blessing. 

‘‘ Just as if I hajdn’t seen this and expected it for 
years,” she answered, as she kissed them both. “ It is, I 
believe, of the Lord, and why should I say it nay.” And 
she wisely rose and left the lovers together. Edward 
found them in the parlor a little later ; and evidently his 
mother had told him something of the condition of things, 
for he walked directly over to the loving pair, and kissing 
Daisy, he took Ray by the hand. “My more than 
brother,” he said, “ there is nothing I would withhold 
from you. Nor do I know of any one more worthy of 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


331 


the dearest sister on earth. God bless you both.” And 
he, too, left them alone. 

Ray took an afternoon train for Wenton because his 
work called him, rather than because he desired to go. 
Both Edward and Daisy had accompanied him to the 
depot, and as he bade them good-bye and took his seat in 
the cars, he felt there was nothing now to mar his happi- 
ness or lessen his usefulness. But in spite of himself 
the divine words would come to his mind with a per- 
sistency that was almost startling : “ He that loveth father 
or mother more than me is not worthy of me : and he that 
loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of 


me. 


CHAPTER XXIV. 


life’s work begun. 

F our years in college and three years in the seminary 
— seven years in all — was a long period of time to 
wait before entering on one’s life work Ray thought, as he 
and Edward Lawton one bright September morning leR 
Afton for the large and busy city where was the univer- 
sity they were to attend. But with hearts and minds 
and hands fully occupied, even those years ran quickly 
by, and one spring day Ray awoke to the consciousness 
that his school days were nearly over. 

There had been on his part the same faithful work, the 
same thorough devotion to Christ, the same desire to do 
all that he did to the glory of God ; and these traits had 
made him through all those years the same successful 
student and the same earnest Christian worker that he 
had been while in Clinton Academy. He had graduated 
from the college with its highest rank, and then he and 
Edward for the first time took difierent courses of study. 
Edward had decided on the medical profession, while 
Ray, still carrying out the cherished hope of his heart, 
had entered the Theological Seminary. Fortunately for 
the two friends, both of these departments were to be 
332 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


333 


found in the vcity where they had taken their collegiate 
course, and by securing private apartments they were 
still enabled to room together, as they had done for the 
eight previous years. 

Ray had continued his religious work at Wenton 
throughout his college course, but on entering the semi- 
nary he gave this up for two reasons : The little church 
there had so grown under his ministrations that it was 
able to give a settled pastor a comfortable support ; then, 
too, Ray had been invited to take charge of a new interest 
established in a growing part of the large city where he 
was studying. Taking, therefore, a thorough rest during 
the vacation between his college and seminary courses, 
Ray threw himself on, the opening of the fall term into 
this new field with characteristic energy, and as the work 
was right at hand, and could have his constant oversight, 
it was soon apparent that at no distant day there would 
be developed there a strong, self-sustaining church. 

Twice during these years of study and toil was Ray 
suddenly called back to Afton. The first occasion was 
during his second year at the college, and was no less an 
important event than the marriage of Captain Thomas S. 
Branford, of the steamship Illyria, plying between New 
York and Liverpool, to Miss Ettie Squire, only daughter 
of General Burton Squire, of Afton. The marriage 
service was performed by Rev. Mr. Carleton, at the First 
Church, after which a brilliant reception was given at 


334 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


the Squire mansion. The bride looked lovely, as brides 
always do, while few grooms look prouder or handsomer 
or more manly than did Captain Tom. There were some 
gossips in the town who were foolish enough to remark : 
“ They could not see what Ettie Squire or her rich, and 
proud father could be thinking of, for once Tom Bran- 
ford, even if he was a captain now, had been in jail.” 
But this remark being repeated in the hearing of Mrs. 
Carleton, she in her own quiet, womanly way turned 
upon the speaker with the question : “ Which is better, to 
marry a man with as marked a Christian character as 
Captain Branford has for years sustained, even if in his 
earlier days, and owing to his unfortunate home-training, 
he did that which was wrong, or to marry a man who has 
no Christian character, who openly avows his unbelief in 
all holy things, and has nothing to his credit but a family 
name and great wealth, the one of which he is liable to 
disgrace, and the other to lose at any hour ? ” As the 
speaker was to marry a man of the latter character 
at an early day, the question was unanswered ; but the 
gossiping tongue was for the time completely silenced. 

The other occasion that called Ray suddenly back to 
Afton occurred just after his first year in the seminary 
had begun, and was one that brought sorrow to his own 
as well as to other hearts. It was the death of Mr. Jacob 
Woodhull. He had come up to the Friday evening ser- 
vice at the First Church as usual, and had taken part in 


‘ THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


335 


the meeting with more than usual fervor. As he arose to 
leave the chapel, at the close of the service, he suddenly 
fell forward on the floor. Dr. Gasque was not over ten 
feet away, but when he bent over the fallen man he had 
already expired. 

It was known that the kind but eccentric old man was 
comparatively well off, but no one was prepared for the 
astonishing fact that his property amounted to several 
hundred thousand dollars. Papers were found also that 
showed that he for years had been a most liberal sup- 
porter of the various departments of Christian work at 
home and abroad. He left a will, moreover, which be- 
queathed all his property to benevolent institutions and 
causes with two comparatively small exceptions. He 
gave his nephew George Woodhull twenty-five thousand 
dollars in trust, the income to be used during his life as 
he saw fit, the principal on his death to be divided among 
his children. The other bequest was of ten thousand 
dollars, and was given directly to Ray Branford, “ being,” 
as the will stated, “ the amount due him in return for 
money loaned me, the said Jacob Woodhull, some years 
ago ; and the only stipulation I make is, that he, the said 
Branford, use it in such a way as to promote his highest * 
usefulness as a worker for Christ.” 

Daisy Lawton, on graduating from the young ladies’ 
institute she was attending, one year after Ray had en- 
tered college, at once made arrangements to enter a 


336 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


young ladies’ college, not far from the city where Kay 
and Edward were studying. In every way possible she 
strove to keep pace with Kay in his mental and spiritual 
growth, that she might in the fullest sense be qualified to 
walk by his side as a true helper. They frequently saw 
each other ; their vacations were spent together ; when 
separated, they kept up a constant correspondence. Thus 
they found themselves not only united in heart, but also 
bound together by common thoughts, by similar desires, 
and by the same holy purpose to make their lives glorify 
the same Master and Lord. When she graduated from 
college, she accepted a position as teacher in the Afton 
Graded School ; but knowing that Kay would, in his 
chosen profession, never have an over-abundance of this 
world’s goods, she, under her mother’s supervision, took 
pains to carefully qualify herself as a thorough house- 
keeper. No household duty was regarded by her as too 
insignificant to know how to do with her own hands, or 
to know how to do well. Kay, as he watched her devel- 
opment, and saw how conscientiously she strove, in her 
great love for him, to make herself qualified for every 
duty that would come to her as his wife, realized more 
and more how utterly impossible it was for him to get 
along without her, and thanked God more and more for 
the treasure he had bestowed. Unconsciously to himself, 
she was absorbing the great love of his heart — the one 
who was most in his thoughts, and the one for whom he 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


337 


most planned and worked. He loved Jesus ; lie wanted 
to do Jesus’ work ; he would not have been happy in any 
other service ; yet not Jesus, but Daisy, was fast becom- 
ing the idol of his soul. But God knew it ; and, bend- 
ing in pitying love over him, was already planning to 
teach him the great and eternal truth : “ Thou shalt 
worship the Lord thy God ; and him only shalt thou 
serve.” 

Strange as it may seem, Ray had nearly completed his 
seminary course, and as yet had come to no full decision 
as to what specific branch of religious work he should 
follow. He was thoroughly interested in both home and 
foreign missions, and had for years kept himself well in- 
formed as to the methods and the success of the work in 
both departments. While at Wenton, he bad taken care 
to ground the little church, from the very outset, in its 
duty not only to care for itself, but to contribute toward 
sending the gospel to the destitute regions at home and 
abroad. “ I regret,” he frequently said, “ that we have 
gotten into the habit of speaking of home and foreign mis- 
sions, as though there were a difference between them, and 
that one is nearer, and therefore has a greater claim upon 
us than the other. To my mind, all is Christ’s work ; all is 
a part of his great commission. That old heathen motto, 
^Nothing pertaining to humanity do I deem foreign,’ in 
its widest and fullest sense should be the sentiment of 

every church of Christ, and of every Christian heart. 

W 


338 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


Wherever there is a human soul without Jesus, there the 
gospel should be sent ; there some preacher should go. 
]Mot because it is at home or abroad ; but because it is 
Qirist’s command, and because it is a human soul need- 
ing his salvation.” 

As he drew near the close of his seminary course, how- 
ever, he had felt a yearning toward the work abroad. 
“ There is the most need of preachers there. I believe I 
would love to go where no preacher has yet gone ; where 
it is darkest, and they most need the light. I only await 
the will of God,” he one day said, little knowing that 
God, that very day, was to show him his will. 

He left his room to go over to the chapel where he was 
preaching, and where that evening he was to hold a prayer 
meeting. It was yet early, but he had a call or two to 
make, and was to take tea with one of the families at- 
tending the chapel. As he passed down one of the busi- 
ness streets of the city, he came to a place where a large 
stone building was being erected. The walls were already 
half up, and a huge stone was even then being hoisted 
up to its position on the wall. He paused a moment, with 
several others, to see the workmen skillfully swing the 
heavy stone into place. Soon it had reached the proper 
height, and was slowly turning around to fit the niche it 
was designed to fill. But before it was fairly secured in 
its place, through the carelessness of one of the workmen, 
it slipped, and then with terrible impetus came plunging 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


339 


down upon the men at the derrick. With a cry of alarm, 
they dropped the cranks and fled from under. All es- 
caped but one — a foreigner who had landed but a few 
days before, and who had that day, for the first time, 
found employment. One corner of the descending stone, 
as it swung around, struck him upon the temple, and he 
was instantly killed. 

Ray helped to place the man in the ambulance, and 
saw him removed to the morgue. Then he went on toward 
the part of the city he was seeking. But the face of the 
dead man haunted him. It kept rising up before him in 
the prayer room. He had never so felt the uncertainty 
of life. He had never been so strongly impressed with 
the need of an immediate reconciliation to God on the 
part of every soul. Never before had he so realized how 
fearful it must be for one to die unsaved. He went back 
to his room. Edward was already in bed and asleep ; 
but he could not retire. Slowly he paced his room. He 
had learned enough about the unfortunate man to know 
he had left a wife and several children at home, to seek 
work in a strange land ; that he had doubtless perished 
without one ray of hope. Was not this the very way in 
which hundreds and thousands on foreign fields were per- 
ishing where one so perished in America ? Hundreds at 
home were warning souls of their danger, and pointing 
out to them the way of eternal life : but in how many 
places, and among how many people, was there not a 


340 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


single witness for Christ ; not a single preacher of his sal- 
vation ! Had he any right to delay in hastening on to 
this work? Hour after hour Ray walked that room, 
weighing that question as he had never weighed it before. 
The more he thought it over, the clearer his duty became ; 
and just as it began to grow light he threw himself on 
his knees at his bedside. “ O Christ, I accept thy call,” 
he cried. “ Open thou the field, and I promise thee I 
will go. And may thy presence go with me, and make 
me a true witness of thy salvation unto perishing souls.” 
He then sought his bed for a brief rest before the duties 
of the day began. 

He waited several days before he wrote to Daisy of his 
decision, for he wanted to be sure he had not mistaken the 
will of God. Finding that each day only confirmed him 
in his choice, he then wrote her a full account of his de- 
cision, and how he had been led to make it. With great 
anxiety, he awaited her reply. It came almost immedi- 
ately, and was as follows : 


Afton, April 10, 18—. 

Dear Rat : 

Tour letter was received last evening. I was not surprised at 
its contents, nor was I wholly unprepared for it, for I have been 
praying that this might be your choice. I know I shall love the 
work among those who so greatly need it, and I have long felt 
that there we can do our best work for Jesus. Unworthy as I 
am, I will gladly take my place by your side and do all I can to 
prosper you in your chosen field. I love home and friends, but I 
love Christ and those darkened, perishing souls more. I have 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


34] 


told mamma, and she says I am to tell you that, hard as it is, she 
too can make the sacrifice for J esus’ sake. Let us pray that Christ 
will make us wholly consecrated to this our life work. 

In deepest love, your 

Daisy. 

Ray read this letter over a dozen times. He had 
anxiously awaited it, fearing Daisy might shrink from 
the work he had chosen; instead, she assured him she 
had been praying it might be his choice. Even Mrs. 
Lawton had declared she too could make the sacrifice it 
involved for Christ’s sake. Was ever duty plainer; or 
could the obstacles that appeared to be in the way be 
more thoroughly removed? 

“ When they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled 
away — for it was very great,” he murmured. “ There is 
nothing now in the way of our honoring Jesus. May the 
honor we bestow be worthy not of a dead, but a risen 
Lord.” 

He now wrote to the Executive Board of Foreign Mis- 
sions, offering himself for any old field where they might 
need a laborer, or any new field they might feel called to 
open. “ My choice would be,” he wrote, “ to go where 
the gospel is most needed, and the young lady who will 
go with me as my wife has the same desire. I can be 
ready to go out the coming fall, or sooner, if you prefer.” 

Before the close of the seminary term he received the 
answer of the board. It gratefully accepted his offer, 
and named him for a field where work had long been 


342 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


begun, but with little result, and where a teeming popula- 
tion of millions was crying out for the Bread of Life. 

“ I will now write Daisy,” he said, on reading the letter, 
“to prepare herself for our immediate marriage. To- 
gether we will study the language of this people, and in 
October sail for our designated field for hard, but I trust, 
fruitful toil. Thank God, our life’s work is found at last.” 

But he never wrote that letter. Two hours later Ed- 
ward entered the room hastily, bearing the following 
telegram : 

Edward and Ray come at once. Mother is very ill. 

Daisy. 

With little knowledge of the dark shadow falling over 
him, or of the great struggle for God and for duty that 
was before him, Kay, with Edward, took that night’s 
express for Afton. 


CHAPTER XXV. 


ray’s full surrender. 

T he train arrived at Afton a little past midniglit, and 
Ray and Edward found Dr. Gasque at the station 
with his carriage waiting for them. To their anxious 
inquiry as to Mrs. Lawton’s condition, the doctor briefly 
replied : 

“ She had a paralytic stroke this afternoon, and is still 
lying in an unconscious condition. We cannot yet tell 
the result, but we fear the worst. Dr. Platt is in consul- 
tation with me, and is now in charge of the patient.” 

When they reached the house, Daisy could tell but 
little more. She and her mother had been out calling 
that afternoon after school was out ; on their return home 
the mother had gone to her own room apparently as well 
as usual. A moment later Daisy heard a heavy fall, and 
hastening to the chamber, found her mother unconscious 
upon the floor. Calling the house girl, they had raised 
the unconscious form and placed her upon the bed, and 
immediately sent for Dr. Gasque. He had called in Dr. 
Platt, and one or both physicians had been there ever 
since, but as yet no change in the mother’s condition was 
perceptible. 


343 


344 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


Slowly tlie hours passed. Dr. Gasque called Edward in 
to assist Dr. Platt and himself, and with powerful bat- 
teries they tried to arouse the feeble vitality of their 
patient, while Kay and Daisy remained within easy call, 
anxiously waiting for the slightest evidence that the 
mother was really better. When morning came, Mrs. 
Lawton had regained consciousness, but was unable to 
speak, or to move hand or foot. Then began a vigil, not 
of hours or days, but of weeks. Daisy procured a substi- 
tute for the rest of the school term, and took charge af 
the household ; a trained and skillful nurse was secured 
for Mrs. Lawton ; Edward and Kay returned to the city 
for the closing exercises of the medical college and semi- 
nary, and then hastened back to Afton. Kay now ven- 
tured to speak to Daisy of the decision of the mission 
board, and the field to which they had been assigned. 

“This sudden illness of your mother,'’ he continued, 
“ will, I know, change our plans. But what shall we do, 
Daisy darling?” 

The face that looked up into his was deathly pale; 
marks of intense anguish were there; and she could 
scarcely control her voice, as she replied : 

“You will have to go alone, Kay. The doctors say 
mother can never be any better, but she may live in this 
condition for years. My duty, then, is clear. I must 
remain here by mother’s side until all is over. I cannot 
tell you, nor can you ever know what this decision has 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


345 


cost me. To give you up, Ray ; to feel that thousands of 
miles separate us ; to know that you may be sick, or may 
even die there, and I cannot be with you! Oh, my 
Saviour, how can I, how can I ! ” And she threw her- 
self in a paroxysm of grief upon his breast. Gently he 
stroked the waving tresses until she grew calmer. 

“Can it be,” her then asked, with a troubled face, 
“ that I have made a mistake in thinking we were called 
to this work when it was not God’s will? Does he mean 
by this providence to show us that we are to remain at 
home, and toil here for him ? I can readily find a field 
of labor, and we can be married; your mother can be 
moved to our home, and still we can walk side by side in 
the Master’s work.” 

“ Oh, Ray ! ” she exclaimed, almost in alarm, “ I have 
already battled with that temptation, and won the 
victory. Don’t bring it up again, or persuade yourself 
it is God’s will. You have not mistaken your life’s work. 
Those heathen lands are calling you. God is saying in 
tones you cannot mistake, ‘ Obey the call.’ I know it. 
Why he should have prevented me from going with you, 
I cannot tell. It may be I am not fitted for the work. 
It may be we loved each other too well, and he wants to 
teach us to love him first and most of all. I do not 
question his wisdom. I cannot understand, but I trust 
him. Don’t think my love for you has in any wise 
diminished. Never were you so dear to me. Death 


346 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


would be a trifle beside this living separation from you ; 
but be has made this duty, and for his sake I can drink 
the cup. ‘ Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.’ ” A 
look of calm resignation had settled on her face; you 
could see she sufiered, yet her heart was at peace; for 
when the human will has lost itself in the divine will, 
the soul is always at rest. 

“You are braver than I,” murmured Ray, kissing 
her passionately, and then he hastened from the room. 

Putting on his hat, he started off at a brisk walk for 
the hills. He felt he must have air and space for this 
great struggle with himself. His struggle was not over 
his going to the foreign field. He admitted that was 
duty ; but might he not put ofi* that going for a year, 
and then Daisy might be able to go with him? This 
seemed plausible, for it coincided with his own wishes. 
Might not God have purposely delayed their going so 
that, they would have more time to study the language 
of the people to whom they were assigned? Why had 
he not thought of this before ? The more he dwelt upon 
it, and weighed the reasons for such a delay, the more 
convinced he was that he had now solved the great pur- 
pose of God’s unexpected providence. He felt sure of 
it when, after a long tramp, he came around by the 
office for his mail. A letter was there from Mr. Grafton, 
of Easton, asking him to supply, for a Sunday or two, 
the church which he had been accustomed to attend 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


347 


during his academic days. This church had had a 
marvelous growth during the years he had been away 
from there. A large and beautiful house of worship, 
a vigorous church membership, and an ample salary, 
were the inducements it offered to the coming pastor ; and 
Mr. Grafton had added: “I am instructed by our church 
committee to say that if you, on visiting us, should care 
to enter into a permanent relation with us, such a course 
will be most satisfactory to the church.” Ray read the 
letter through, and then hastened back to the cottage. 
Finding Daisy, he poured forth in glowing language his 
convictions, and, reading the letter to her, he asked : 

“Was ever anything plainer? Here, without the 
asking, has God appointed my work; you can now 
become my wife, and together we will toil at Easton, 
until God opens the way for our going to the foreign 
field.” 

A great hope, for a moment, came into her pale, 
anxious face; then she said, quietly: “We will pray over 
it, Ray, and if it truly seems to be God’s will, I shall be 
only too happy to grant your request.” And she hid her 
blushing face on his shoulder. 

“We will pray over it, Ray.” Those words came with 
a condemning force to his ears. In all his weighing of 
the question, he had not prayed over it. He had not 
even thought of it; and now, as he realized this, and 
that he had not followed his usual custom of taking all 


348 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


of his plans to God for his direction, he was startled. 
Was he really setting up his own will, and trying to 
make God’s will conform to it, instead of asking what 
was God’s will, and then yielding his own will to that? 

“You are right, my Daisy,” he said, raising her blush- 
ing face up to his for a kiss. “ I am afraid I have not 
tried to settle this question as I should have done ; we 
will indeed pray over it. Meantime, I can see no harm 
in going up to Easton and preaching for that church on 
Sunday. In that way God may give us light on this 
important question.” 

But when he got to Easton and found how anxious the 
Grand Avenue Church people were to have him for their 
pastor, and how sure they were it would not be right for 
him to sail to his mission field without a wife, he yielded ; 
and before he returned to Afton he had written the 
mission board that he would postpone his going out for a 
year, and had closed an engagement with the church 
as its pastor for the same length of time. 

When he told Daisy, she gravely shook her head. 
“I’m afraid, Ray, you have made a mistake,” she said; 
“ but, of course, in such a question as this, the final de-. 
cision must always rest with you. It wiU take me some 
time to get ready for our marriage, with my other duties ; 
then, too, we must see if mother can safely be moved as 
far as Easton. There is another thing we should think 
of also. If we are married, and then I could not go 


THE BLACK FOKGE MILLS. 


349 


out with you in a year, what will you do? It will 
be infinitely harder for us to separate then : perhaps you 
would have to give up your plan altogether. Would it 
not be better to wait, and leave yourself at liberty to go 
alone another year, if my duty keeps me here? Don’t 
think r am hesitating on my own account, Kay, about 
being your wife,” she added, noticing his annoyed look. 
“It is because I love you so that I want in no way to 
embarrass you in your chosen work. Look well at every 
side of this question, and if you still feel it is the wisest 
course to take, I shall not delay our marriage a moment.” 

Throwing his arm around her, Ray drew her down 
beside him on the nearest sofa. 

“Go on, as your other duties may permit, my darling, 
in your preparations for our marriage,” he gravely said ; 
“and the first moment it seems wisest to have the cere- 
mony performed, we will have it done. It may come 
soon, and at brief notice; it may be long in the coming: 
but we will be ready for it at any hour. 

“Meantime, I confess I shall find satisfaction in the 
fact that you are not far away, and we can see each other 
often,” she responded, smilingly. 

Kay believed that he was thoroughly consecrated to 
his work at Easton. He certainly never worked harder, 
nor prayed more fervently for God’s blessing on his 
labors; but month after month passed, and not the 
slightest fruit appeared. Kay grew discouraged. He 


350 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


began to feel he had made a mistake in accepting his pas- 
torate. Had he not, indeed, made his first mistake in not 
going to the foreign field ? Had not his course been based 
upon a doubt of God ? If he had only trusted God and 
gone forward, might not God have made it perfectly pos- 
sible for Daisy to have gone with him ? Had he not put 
Daisy first and God second ? and was not his toil fruitless 
because God would not consent to any such arrangement ? 
He opened his Bible and read the story of Jonah. “ He 
was troubled until he went back to his duty, and took up 
his appointed work.” He commented : “ Shall it be so 
with me ? ” As if in answer to his question the door bell 
rang sharply. A moment later a telegram was handed 
into his study. With trembling hand he tore open the 
envelope. It grew so dark around him he could scarcely 
read the single line written on the enclosed page : 

Come at once. Daisy is sick — perhaps dying. 

Edward. 

A train left in fifteen minutes. Mechanically he made 
his preparations, was driven to the station, and swung on 
to the last car of the already moving train. How slowly 
it went ! — would Daisy be living when he arrived ? 

“ Oh, God ! not this blow — not this blow!” he repeated 
over and over again. 

“ Afton ! ” finally the brakeman called. 

He arose as one in a dream and staggered out to the 
platform. Harry Gasque met him. Neither Edward 


THE 'BLACK FORGE MILLS. 351 

nor Dr. Gasque had come — was this a harbinger of evil 
or good ? 

“ Harry,” he gasped, “ is she living ? ” He did not 
know his own voice, it was so unnatural in its huskiness. 

“ Yes,” Harry answered, as he helped Ray into the 
waiting carriage. “ Father and Edward and Dr. Platt 
and Dr. Blanding of this city, are in consultation now, 
so I came for you.” 

The great Dr. Blanding had been summoned then. 
The case must be critical. Yet only three days before 
he had heard from Daisy, and she was well. 

“ What is the disease? ” he steadied his voice to ask. 

“ Typhoid pneumonia,” his companion briefly answered. 

They reached the house. Edward met him at the 
door. 

“ Calm yourself, Ray,” he said, soothingly. “ She is 
calling piteously for you, and for her sake you must be 
calm.” 

For her sake ! ” Edward could not have used wiser 
words. By a mighty effort Ray gained control of him- 
self. He was very pale, but outwardly calm, as he entered 
the sick room. He bent over the suflTerer, fair and beau- 
tiful even in her delirium, and never so inexpressibly 
dear to him as now. 

“ Daisy, I have come,” he said, gently. 

“ I am so glad,” she answered, with a deep sigh, and 
dropped off into a quiet slumber. 


352 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


Hour after hour Ray sat there, and day after day. At 
times Daisy was herself, and conversed understandingly 
with him. At other times she was in a wild delirium, 
and talked incessantly of what she called Ray’s mistake, 
and now God would bless him no more. She would plead 
with him to be true to duty ; again she would beg him 
piteously not to leave her. 

From the outset the doctors had given but little hopes 
of her recovery. Every effort to reduce the extreme 
temperature had been unavailing, and each day she 
grew weaker. One Sunday morning she came out from 
a prolonged stupor very feeble, but perfectly rational. 
She smiled at Ray, and said, with deep pathos that brought 
tears to his eyes : 

“ Poor boy ! you are having a long and weary watch ; 
but it will soon be over. I have loved you so, and have 
been so anxious to work by your side. But not my will, 
but his will, be done ! Promise me, Ray, you will take 
up your chosen work when I am gone, and carry it on 
faithfully to life’s end. If Jesus is willing, I shall be 
near you, after all. Better this than a living separation.” 

He controlled himself as best he could, and gave her 
the desired promise ; and when, a few moments later, she 
sank into a stupor again, he left her in Edward’s care, 
and went across the hall to his own room. 

Kneeling by the bedside, he began a prayer of most 
humble confession He acknowledged his mistake. He 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


353 


admitted that Daisy had been the idol of his soul, and that 
in his plans and in his work he had thought first of her. 

“ O Lord,” he cried, “ it is not necessary that thou 
shouldst remove her, for me to know and do my duty. 
Thy will is above my will. I surrender all, even her, to 
thee. Forgive my sin. Kestore to me thy favor and 
thy power. I will obey thy call. Nay, Lord, her life 
and her death are in thy hands. What is for thy glory, 
that wilt thou do.” 

Over and over he prayed. Hour after hour passed. 
Not until he felt a peace he long had not known ; not 
until the assurance had come to him that Daisy would 
be spared, did he arise from his knees. 

It was night when he again sought Daisy’s room. Dr. 
Gasque and Edward looked up at him in astonishment 
as he entered, for his hair was sprinkled with gray, and 
he looked ten years older than when he left the room 
only a few hours before. 

“ How is she. Dr. Gasque ? ” he asked, with a smile, the 
first they had seen upon his lips since his arrival. 

“ Her temperature has gone down two degrees, and she 
rests quietly,” he replied. “ Keally, if it were possible, I 
should think she was better.” 

“ She will live. God has promised it,” Ray responded, 
with the old confident, positive tone he was accustomed 
to use in religious things. 

Again the two watchers by the bedside looked at him ; 

X 


354 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


and Kay, utterly unaware of the change in his appear- 
ance, gave them an assuring smile. 

“ I have seen God face to face,” he said, with tones of 
awe, “ and yet I have lived. Praise his holj’ name.” 

“ If she lives,” responded Dr. Gasque, reverently, “ I 
shall have no hesitancy in declaring that ‘ the prayer of 
faith shall save the sick.’ ” 

All night those three watched by the fair sufferer’s 
side. At dawn she awoke. 

“ Dr. Gasque, Edward, and Kay — all here by me,” she 
said, feebly. Then to Kay Darling, I have had such a 
sweet dream; Jesus came himself to me, and said: ‘It is 
enough ; thou shalt live ’ ; and really I feel stronger and 
better. I know you have prayed for me, and God has 
heard your prayer.” 

Dr. Gasque had been feeling her pulse, and now passed 
his hand over her brow. “Be perfectly quiet. Miss 
Daisy,” he said ; “ you are better.” To Edward and Kay 
he added, as they followed him into the hall way, “ She 
will live.” 

Edward with a light heart returned to the sick cham- 
ber, but Kay crossed the hall and entered his room. 
Throwing himself on his bed for a much-needed rest, 
he repeated over and over, in tones of deepest gratitude 
and love, “ O God, thy will shall be done. Thy will 
shall be done.” 


CHAPTER XXVI. 


hope’s full feuition at last. 

D AISY’S convalescence was slow but sure. In a week 
she was regarded as out of danger, and Ray re- 
turned to his work at Easton. He at once wrote the mis- 
sion board, informing them of his readiness to go at brief 
notice to any field the mission might suggest, though he 
should have to go alone. They immediately responded 
that no one had as yet been assigned to the vacancy he 
had expected to fill the October before, and in their judg- 
ment he was peculiarly qualified for that field ; therefore 
they would suggest that he make every preparatian to go 
out to that people the coming October, and possibly 
circumstances would be such at that time he could take 
a wife with him. No time need actually be wasted dur- 
ing the few months of waiting, as in a town not over 
twenty miles from him was a returned missionary familiar 
with the language and customs of the people among 
whom he would work. By visiting him, Ray could 
obtain such information and help as would enable him to 
make a most profitable use of the intervening months. 
Acting upon this suggestion, Ray, at as early a date as 

355 


356 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


possible, called on the missionary, and under his instruc- 
tion began the study of the language. 

A week or two later he went down to Afton to spend a 
day with Daisy. She was able to occupy an invalid’s 
chair, and had regained much of her old cheerfulness 
and vivacity. As he sat by her, he told her of the strug- 
gle through which he had passed when her condition had 
been most critical, and of the pledge he had then made 
to God. 

“Hard as it is, my darling,” he said, “to fulfill that 
pledge, I must do it. I dare not do otherwise. In fact, 
lest I should waver again in my resolve, I immediately 
wrote the mission board, and am now appointed to my 
old field, to sail the coming October. I have placed my- 
self under the instruction of a returned missionary, and 
shall prepare myself, as far as possible, during the inter- 
vening months for my life work. I know that you, pain- 
ful as our separation will be, will nevertheless approve of 
my decision. As you once said, I by God’s grace can 
now say, ‘Though I cannot understand, yet I can trust 
him.’ ” 

The fair face was perhaps a trifle paler, but the voice 
that answered him was perfectly steady and almost tri- 
umphant in its tones : “ It is all right, Ray. I knew of 
your struggle. These locks” — and she lightly brushed 
his hair — “have told the story of your anguish; but 
threaded as they are with gray they are infinitely more 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


357 


precious to me, for they tell of a victory won over self. 
Let me tell you too, Kay darling, I do not believe God 
has raised me from that sick bed for nothing. You may 
have to go out alone and for a time we may be separated. 
But I believe the Saviour has called me to that work, 
and sooner or later I shall toil by your side. It may 
seem unmaidenly, but I promise you that when duty at 
home is over, I shall hasten across the seas to you, and 
our union and our toil will perhaps be worth all the more 
because we have made even this our sacrifice for Jesus’ 
sake.” 

“ God bless you for those words, darling ; they have 
given me a hope that will brighten my toil and make me 
more willing to undergo the sacrifice,” he replied. And, 
rising, he bent down over her fair face and pressed kiss 
after kiss upon her lips. 

“ There, that will do, sir,” she at length cried, with 
something of her old mirth, and struggling for breath ; 
“ nothing but the fact that you are so soon to leave me 
reconciles me to such prodigality on your part.” Then, 
with tears coming into her eyes, “ You will be with me 
as often as possible, Ray ? Our long separation will come 
quickly, and I am selfish enough to want you with me 
every moment you can spare until then.” 

“ I will come down as often as possible until Septem- 
ber,” he answered. “ Then I will come here, and remain 
until the hour of my departure is at hand.” 


358 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS 


He went back to Easton the next morning happier, 
notwithstanding the approaching separation from Daisy, 
than he had been for months. He was in the line of duty 
again, and once more he was conscious of the Spirit’s 
presence and power. 

It was a Saturday, and on his arrival at Easton a press 
of work was upon him until a late hour that night. 
Quite exhausted, not far from midnight he threw him- 
self upon his bed, and soon fell asleep. Philosophers tell 
us that our dreams are a continuation of our waking 
thoughts. Be this as it may, Ray soon had a vision or 
dream quite in keeping with his thoughts and feelings of 
the whole day before. He felt himself suddenly sur- 
rounded by an intense glory ; an inexpressible happiness 
filled his soul ; the brightness grew so vivid he could not 
keep his eyes open. But a moment later he felt a hand 
laid upon his head, and a voice, loving and tender, said : 
“ God is able to make all grace abound toward you ; that 
ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound 
to every good word and work.” Thrice did the voice 
utter these words ; and then the hand was removed, the 
brightness gradually faded away, but the happiness re- 
mained. It was a joy unlike any Ray had experienced 
before — deeper, richer, holier far. He felt that he had 
been baptized anew with the Holy Ghost. 

He went to his pulpit the following morning with the 
power of that divine touch and commendation upon him. 


THE BLACK FOEGE MILLS. 


859 


He preached with a freshness and vigor that moved the 
great audience before him ; in the evening prayer meeting, 
souls inquired the way to Jesus. With the suddenness of a 
meteor’s glare the power of the Spirit burst in mighty 
revival upon that church and congregation. For ten 
weeks Ray stood nightly in his pulpit and proclaimed the 
word of life ; hundreds inquired : “ What shall I do to be 
saved?” Then, from sheer exhaustion, Ray stopped. 
His church officers called on him, and said : 

“ Pastor, go off and rest. Stay one week or more, as 
you please. We will do what we can to continue these 
services ; but you have earned, nay, your physical condi- 
tion demands, absolute rest.” 

The next train took Ray to Afton. There was no place 
where he could rest as he could in the Lawton cottage. 
His extra labor had kept him too from Daisy ; and he 
felt he now had earned the right to spend a few days by 
her side. He had not realized how exhausted he was 
until he got out at the Afton station, and started to walk 
up the avenue. From sheer weakness he was forced 
to call a carriage, and be driven around to the cottage 
door. It was now the middle of May, and the day was 
bright and sunny. So it happened Daisy was out on the 
veranda as the carriage stqpped at the gate, and he 
alighted, and, with feeble step, advanced up the walk. 
She sprang to meet him, with a cry of alarm. 

“Oh, Ray, what is it? Are you sick? Let me 


360 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


help you into the house. Fortunately, Edward is 
within.” 

She helped him up the steps, into the little sitting room ; 
and, with a weary sigh, he sank down upon a sofa. “ It 
is nothing but sheer exhaustion,” he said to her, with a 
faint smile. “ A few day’s rest, and your nursing, will 
make a new man of me.” 

Just then Edward came hastily in, having heard Daisy’s 
cry of alarm. He at once ordered Ray to his room, and 
to bed. Not but what we shall pull you through all 
right, Ray,” he said. “ But there is no place like a bed 
for solid rest ; and that you have got to take, with some- 
thing to tone up your system. A day or two of quietness 
now may save you a long sickness.” 

' Ray submitted to his directions, for his own good sense 
confirmed them ; and a half hour later he was sleeping 
as soundly as a child. For three days Edward kept him 
in bed, while Daisy brought him the most appetizing and 
nourishing food, prepared by her own hands. His vig- 
orous constitution reasserted itself ; and on the fourth day 
he descended to the sitting room quite like himself. But 
Daisy would not permit him even yet to exert himself to 
any great extent, and insisted that he should frequently 
lie down upon the lounge she had brought into the sitting 
room, and upon which she had arranged a profusion of 
pillows. 

He lay there in the afternoon, while she sat in a low 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


361 


rocker by his side, and he was telling her of the great 
harvest of souls that had been gathered in at Easton, 
when Edward drove up to the door in a light buggy, 
having with him Miss Sadye Greenough, the daughter 
of Mr. Greenough, principal of the Afton Graded School. 
Hitching the horse, he assisted Miss Sadye to alight, and 
the two came in where Ray and Daisy were. 

The two girls greeted each other as old friends and 
schoolmates always do, and Edward placed another rocker 
for Miss Sadye beside Daisy’s, while he sat down on the 
lounge at Ray’s feet. Ray had risen to greet Miss 
Greenough, for she was an old school friend of his also ; 
but, at the earnest solicitation of all, had resumed his 
position on the pillows. 

“Ray,” said Edward, laying his hand on his old 
chum’s, “ I have a little business with you and Daisy ; 
and as Sadye is interested in it also, I brought her along 
with me. You have, I expect, had some idea that I 
was a little partial in my feelings toward Sadye ; and a 
few weeks ago, as she may have written you, I found 
she cared a little something about me. She has even 
promised to become my wife next month. But she is 
blushing so, I shall have to stop all that talk, and come 
directly to the proposition we have to make. It is this : 
instead of setting up a separate establishment of our own, 
we will come here. Sadye will take the place of Daisy 
at the head of the household affairs, and in the care of 


362 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


mother. This will leave Daisy free. You can be mar- 
ried when we are, and in October she can go with you to 
the mission field. What do you say ? ” 

Kay sat upright, and grasped Edward’s hand. ‘‘ God 
bless you, Ned,” he exclaimed, “ for thinking of this, even 
if it is not practicable.” And he looked wistfully over at 
Daisy. 

A sudden hope had come into her heart; her eyes 
danced with joy ; but controlling herself she turned to 
Sadye, saying : “ I have no right to ask this of you. It 
would put heavy burdens upon you, such as you have 
not been accustomed to, and it would be selfish of me to 
allow it.” 

“ Why ? ” said Sadye, low and earnestly. “ She will be 
my mother as well as yours. She has a good nurse, and 
there is a good girl in the house. My duties cannot be ex- 
cessive, and I certainly will do all I can to fill your exact 
place. This is my own thought, not Edward’s. It is 
doing by you as I would be done by ; as I know you 
would do by me if our places were reversed. I shall love 
to do it. Then I too love Jesus ; and may I not make the 
little sacrifice this involves to let you go with the one of 
your choice to those heathen lands ? Thus while at home 
may I not, indirectly at least, help on the Master’s work 
abroad?” 

Daisy gave the generous and thoughtful girl a hearty 
kiss; then she said, tremulously: “We will think this 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


363 


over, and pray over it, and if God directs it, I will accept 
the sacrifice you offer, knowing you do it for the Master’s 
sake, as well as for the love you have for Edward and 
myself. You were going with Edward, I believe, to see a 
patient. Why not come back here to tea, and spend the 
evening with us, and we will try and come to a decision. 
If we are to be married when you and Edward are, I 
shall have my hands full, and will need every moment 
of time between now and then.” 

Edward and Sadye went off* on their ride, while Kay 
and Daisy talked and prayed over the offer Edward and 
his companion had so unexpectedly made. 

“ If I could only feel it was right to delegate my duty 
to another,” Daisy said, “that would end the matter. 
But no one can care for a mother as a daughter can. I 
know Sadye would see that mother was comfortable in 
every way. That is not the chief trouble. It is that 
mother will not see me, and I cannot bear to give her 
this pain ; she has so little now to comfort her.” 

“ Why not talk it over with her, and see what she says 
about it?” Kay asked. “You know at the very outset 
she was willing you should go. She is able to understand 
all you say, even if she cannot speak, and a look or a 
nod will give us some idea of how she feels. I would 
not for a moment want you to go, if she seems unwilling 
to part with you.” 

Daisy was silent for some little time. “Kay dear,” 


364 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


she finally said, “ now that you have suggested this I do 
believe that is what has troubled mother. When I told 
her how you had postponed your going for a while, I 
thought she tried to make me understand something, but 
what it was I could not tell. After my sickness I told 
her of your decision to go without me, and there has 
been a troubled look in her eyes ever since. It cer- 
tainly, as you say, can do no harm to tell her of Sadye’s 
proposition, and see how she feels.^’ 

At the supper table Daisy spoke to Edward and Sadye 
about Kay’s suggestion to talk the matter over with the 
mother. Edward at once approved of the plan, and a 
little later the four went to the invalid’s room. All 
greeted her with a kiss, and then Daisy slowly and dis- 
tinctly told her frankly of the oflTer Sadye had made. She 
assured her that all desired the mother’s will to be car- 
ried out, and that would make them the happiest which 
would give her the greatest joy. A great flash of intel- 
ligence passed over the invalid’s face as Daisy spoke; 
and when Daisy had finished, she tried to lift one of her 
hands toward Kay. He saw the movement, and with a 
quick intuition of her meaning he stepped quickly to the 
bedside and took Daisy’s hand into his own. Again that 
flash of intelligence passed over the face of the mother, 
and her lips seemed to be moving, though no sound 
escaped them. They watched her ; and then, to the as- 
tonishment of all, those lips for the first time in many 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 365 

months gave forth an utterance. All heard clearly and 
distictly the single word, “ Go.” 

Edward hastened to his mother’s side, and watching 
those lips requested the mother to speak again. In vain 
she tried, though her eyes fastened upon Ray and Daisy, 
with a look which showed plainly that none had misun- 
derstood her desire. 

On a soft balmy June day, therefore, three weeks later, 
a double marriage took place at the Lawton cottage. It 
was a quiet simple affair in all of its arrangements. The 
invalid mother was raised on pillows, so that her eyes 
could rest upon the two couples as Mr. Carleton spoke 
the words that joined each for life to the chosen one. 
Only the immediate families of the young people were 
present, and after the ceremony had been performed 
Edward and his bride departed for a brief bridal tour, 
while Ray and Daisy remained quietly at the cottage 
until their I-eturn. Then Daisy was to accompany Ray 
to Easton. 

Ray had brought his books with him, and Daisy and 
he spent their leisure moments studying the language of 
the people to whom they were now so soon to go. On 
the Sunday that Edward was absent, Ray readily ar- 
ranged with Mr. Carleton to go up to Easton for him, 
while he preached to the First Church people. 

Just a week after the marriage, Edward and his wife 
returned, and it had been arranged that they and Daisy 


366 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


and Ray should spend the evening in the mother’s joom. 
Mrs. Lawton had been raised upon pillows to greet the 
returning couple, and Edward, sitting down by the bed- 
side, gave her a most entertaining account of the places 
he and his bride had visited. The mother's face clearly 
manifested her joy at the happiness of her son and 
daughter, and she looked from one couple to the other 
with intense satisfaction beaming from her expressive 
eyes. After a time, lest they should weary the mother, 
all but Edward departed. He delayed a moment to 
assist the nurse in placing the invalid back in her accus- 
tomed position in bed. He had scarcely done this, how- 
ever, when a cry escaped him that brought all the others 
back to the room. They had no need to ask what had 
alarmed him. The look on the mother’s face told them 
the great change, long dreaded, had come. Her eyes were 
uplifted, her lips struggled to speak ; for the second time, 
since her sudden affliction came upon her, she spoke. 
Softly she whispered the word “peace,” and then she 
was at rest. * 

Ray closed bis work at Easton, much to the regret of 
his people, on September first. That month he and Daisy 
spent at Afton with Edward and his wife. Early in Oc- 
tober they sailed on the steamship Illyria, Captain Tom 
Branford, master, for Liverpool, intending there to take 
direct passage for their field of labor. As the steamer 
moved slowly down the harbor, Ray and Daisy stood on 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 


367 


its deck, looking off toward the fast receding land. Ray’s 
countenance indicated deep thought, but not until the 
land had vanished from sight did Daisy disturb him. 
Then she gently asked : 

“ What is it, Ray ? ” 

He looked down into her upturned face with a bright 
smile. 

“ I was thinking of that passage in Isaiah,” he an- 
swered, “that reads, ‘And an highway shall be there and 
a way, and it shall be called the way of holiness.’ I was 
reviewing my life since I became God’s child, and that 
passage came to mind. It seemed to me I had, during 
these years that have gone, been slowly traveling up that 
highway. Sometimes I have thought the byways offered 
a safer footing, and I have ventured into them, only to 
find that the Lord’s appointed way was the only one that 
offered peace and safety. I have had my valley of 
humiliation and self-surrender. I believe I am now will- 
ing to say, ‘ Thy will be done.’ ” 

“ The moment you reached that point, I was snatched 
from death’s door, and the way was opened for me to 
walk with you directly on to what we believed to be our 
life work,” said Daisy, thoughtfully. “ What is the lesson 
we are to learn ? ” 

“ That we must hold all we have, even those we love 
best, subject to the will of God,” Ray responded, promptly. 
“ He will have nothing put before himself.” 


368 


THE BLACK FORGE MILLS. 

“ It cost US a year of delay in our chosen work, never- 
theless, to know that experience,” added Daisy, with a 
sigh. 

“And yet not a lost year,” remarked Ray, with some- 
thing like satisfaction in his tones. “ Our labor on the 
field to which we go would not have been worth half what 
it will now be had we gone without this experience 
through which we have in twelve months passed. We 
have, I firmly believe, advanced much nearer to the 
Master ; we have placed ourselves in sweeter and more 
tender relations with him ; we can each hear him say, in 
loving accents, ‘Thou art mine.’ We have found more 
than redemption, more than intimacy — even complete 
identification with him. Those old words that my mother 
found so precious when dying, and which had such a 
fascination for me in the prayer room so many years ago, 
have now become words of absolute experience in our 
religious lives. We go with glad hearts to our appointed 
field, though the way is untried and the future unknown, 
because we can each hear the Saviour saying, with all the 
force of a divine promise, ‘ Fear not, for I have redeemed 
thee ; I have called thee by thy name ; thou art mine.’ ” 






THE END. 












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